love you 'til my breathing stops
by byzinha
Summary: When the new hero in town seems to make his business to keep class 2-A safe, you can only expect the heroes-in-training to wonder about his secret identity and how he seems to know so much about the future. Uraraka is the one to find out who's behind the mask, but with that knowledge comes a lot more, perhaps more than she can handle. / Misfits AU, two-shot
1. The Masked Blur

**Author's note** : Hello fandom I'm completely new at! You might not know me, but I've been around writing fanfiction for a very long time, and I promised myself I wouldn't get involved in the _bnha_ fandom, but as you can see, I failed miserably.

There are some things you have to know before you start reading this long ass fic, so here it goes:

1\. **English is NOT my first language.** I proofread most of it, but since I don't have a beta reader, I can't guarantee the quality of the grammar. Any mistakes, please, forgive me.

2\. This fic is a **TWO-SHOT**. If you think this first chapter is hella long, well, chapter two will follow the same pattern.

3\. **This fic is a Misfits AU**. Have you watched _Misfits_? It was (RIP) a British show and it was pretty damn good, you should check it out. In this AU, Midoriya would be the Simon and Uraraka would be the Alisha.

4\. That being said, I have to let you know that a Simon/Alisha AU is doomed to be **pretty fucking depressing** , and this is not a hyperbole. There will be **NO HAPPY ENDING** and if angst, PTSD, depression and violence is not your cup of tea, you should avoid reading any further. I'm serious, I was outlining the plot _and I cried_.

5\. I've read as far as volume 7 of the mangas, and I've watched both seasons of the anime, including the OVAs. That way, I don't know a lot of the canon plot, and even though I tried to research as much as I could without being spoiled, I'm sure there are a bunch of stuff I got wrong, so forgive me for that too, and please look past the discrepancies ^^'

6\. Yes, there will be some Kacchaco, but **this is a IzuOcha fic**! Ochaco and Katsuki's friendship will be well explored and important, but the romance is between Ocha and Deku.

7\. Finally, yes, they're **underage**. At the beginning of the fic, they're in their second year of high school, and yes, I added a lot of sexual content, because it's a _Misfits_ AU. The chapter was built like an arc from _Skins UK_ and I like how the brits had no reservations with those two shows. I think it's realistic and if it wouldn't work for the story, I wouldn't add it. There's a reason this fic is rated M.

Also note that **Boku no Hero Academia and its characters are not mine**.

I hope you survive these almost 30k words, and I'm sorry it's so long. Thanks for taking the time!

* * *

 **love you 'til my breathing stops**

" _When we were in flames, I needed you to run through my veins, like disease (…)  
Oh, winter comes. Oh, winter crush all of the things that I once loved_."  
 _Winter_ \- Daughter

 _The Masked Blur_

In a world of heroes, truly noticing one of them was hard as hell, but Uraraka Ochaco noticed him.

-x-

He first appeared during one of U.A.'s field trips, jumping from the sky at top speed as their bus was attacked by yet another horde of villains. Class A had been suffering those attacks at least twice a semester now, and if the pattern continued, they still had one ahead of them for the first half of their second year.

His identity was a mystery, seeing that he was wearing a mask and his uniform wasn't like nothing they've seen before, even though they speculated that he didn't seem to be much older than them.

It didn't help that he moved so fast it was hard to make out his movements.

Perhaps he was from other part of the country, other school, other place altogether. Ochaco couldn't tell. As he took opponent after opponent in a battle that had gotten their class frozen, time stopped. She watched him go in a blur, fists so fast the air around them blew like a tornado, raising enough dust to cover the whole bus.

It was over before Mr. Aizawa even stepped out of the bus, and it took a while for the dust to settle and let them see the five villains that tried to attack them knocked out and tied up.

Clearly, the new nameless hero knew exactly what to do. He saved them and he didn't even stay to get their thanks, didn't even leave a name to be printed on the journals.

When Uraraka got out of the bus with her colleagues, they all shared the same perplexed, amazed aura, jaws dropped as they looked around the road trying to understand what just happened.

"Was that All Might?" asked Mineta looking up the sky, the question on everyone's mind, even though they all knew…

"No," replied Mr. Aizawa glaring at the horizon. "All Might has been retired for a long time now."

The teacher looked around, then, counting his students. They were all so shocked that they didn't even notice the way his glare lingered on Midoriya for a beat too long before he frowned.

"Huh," he said, unable to find a coherent answer at the moment.

"He moved like All Might, though, kero," Asui commented evenly and they all nodded, even though they didn't get to see much.

For a long time the world had thought that there would never be anyone like All Might, but so far they had Midoriya in their class with a power so close to the former #1 hero it was scary, and now that mysterious masked blur made an appearance.

It was incredible, really.

"I wish they hadn't left so fast," Midoriya lamented. "I wanted to thank them."

Uraraka and Iida nodded agreeing. Far away, they could hear the sirens of the police cars approaching.

"Me too, Deku," she said with a little pout. "He seems really neat."

"He?" Hagakure interrupted. "What makes you so sure it's a guy?"

Ochaco shrugged, opting to be honest.

"Just a guess."

-x-

The masked blur showed up plenty of times for the following couple of months, always when Class A was in trouble. No one else seemed to know who he was or even saw him, unless they were with the A students when he'd rescue them. Not even other professional heroes could catch up with him to find out who he was.

"You think he's our guardian angel?" wondered Momo once and Aoyama frowned.

" _Of all of us?_ " he asked as skeptically as he could sound, which was borderline smug. Momo shrugged.

"It sure feels like he's taking care of us, though," Uraraka commented at the time, absently looking out the window and silently wondering about his motivations. She wondered…

Nah, it couldn't be.

Shaking her head, Ochaco stored the thought in a dark corner of her mind, focused on getting on with her life. Second year of U.A. was hard, and she had a lot of work to worry about, no time to spend thinking of some guy jumping from building to building saving their asses every now and then.

-x-

Except that Uraraka couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious Masked Blur. That was how the papers were calling him because that was how her class called him. The fact that he didn't want to be known by other people said a lot about his personality, he was a hero who didn't care about fame or being known, almost the complete opposite of her, who wanted the money that came with the fame – even though it was for a good cause – and she couldn't help but to feel drawn to him.

Ochaco was intrigued, to say the least. Similar to Deku, she started taking notes of everything she remembered of the Masked Blur, trying to figure out his M.O. and to get something meaningful out of it. She carried a notepad everywhere, and had a special notes section on her phone just to write about him, but even though there was two months' worth of data, she still couldn't know _who_ he was.

It had been in one of these days when she was walking back home distracted by her phone that someone tried to mug her just a block from her building.

"Money and phone, miss!" a guy with cracked skin and bloodshot eyes said pointing a gun at Ochaco.

Wide-eyed, she threw her hands up. She was startled, but she also was second year student at U.A., and her brain immediately started trying to find a way to overcome her opponent, bringing back the training she'd been getting in her internships.

"Quick!" the guy hurried, stepping closer, his gun pointed to her chest.

Without knowing his quirk it would be a risk to force contact, but she'd learned to take down gunned people, all she needed was an opening, perhaps when she'd hand over her phone. With her quirk, she could maneuver a move where she'd take his gun and make him float in just one go. Maybe, if she was fast enough and had a little bit of luck…

"I WON'T SAY AGAIN!" the mugger shouted, making Ochaco jump and hand him the phone.

"S-sorry!" she exclaimed, ready to take action.

Everything happened so fast. Uraraka reached out with the hand she was holding her phone; startled by her sudden movement, the mugger pulled the trigger, and later she'd remember thinking why did he want her to give him her things if he was going to shoot anyway. For a stretched moment, Ochaco thought that was it, her promising life would end a block from U.A. because of a flip-phone, but before she could even blink, she was across the street, a gush of air blowing her hair up.

"Are you okay?" he asked keeping his hands on her shoulders, his voice modified behind the mask. She couldn't see his eyes, and his hair was covered by a dark hood.

"Yes," Ochaco managed to say staring up at him. She only had one second to look at him up close, and it didn't give much away.

The Masked Blur was taller than her, with a lean body and strong shoulders. There was something about the way he moved that felt familiar to her, almost… _intimate_ , but she couldn't put a finger on it, not yet. It was all she could process before he was gone and she was alone on the street, her shoulders burning with his touch, an unconscious, tied up mugger and her phone in hand completing a call.

" _Musutafu Police, what's your emergency?_ " someone on the other side of the call said. " _Hello? This call is being traced, if you're in troub-_ "

Out of her reverie, Uraraka picked up the phone.

"Hi, I'm Uraraka Ochaco, U.A.'s student. The Masked Blur just saved me from a gunman."

" _Are you okay, miss?_ "

"Yes," she answered right away. "And the mugger is incapacitated too."

" _We're already on our way, miss, stay put._ "

"Okay," Ochaco said, thought her mind was somewhere else, in this vague idea she once had that kind of had to do with Momo's guardian angel talk – that perhaps he was there to protect them, perhaps… he'd go out of his way to keep them safe. And if he was so eager to protect them, maybe she could find a way… to find him.

-x-

That was all Uraraka needed to know before she'd start plotting her way to uncover who the Masked Blur was. Knowing he'd come to her aid, Ochaco began putting herself in certain situations, trying to catch his attention. It didn't always work – sometimes a friend from school would help her, sometimes she would have to find her way out of it alone, but it worked enough times, just not enough to let her understand his M.O. a bit.

"Hell, you've always been crazy," Bakugo commented once when they were coming back from the mall. "But now you're just reckless."

"Aren't you the last bit curious, though?" she asked him and he shrugged uninterested.

"If some random guy wants to save our skins, that's his problem," he said casually. "I still think it's some secret U.A. project."

"Kacchan, that wouldn't make any sense," Ochaco argued shaking her head. Being between him and Deku, it was only a matter of time until she caught up on his nickname as well, and to her surprise Bakugo never complained about it. "Why would the school hide something like that from us, they seem as confused as us about the Masked Blur."

Bakugo groaned.

"That's got to be the dumbest hero name I've ever heard," he mumbled and Uraraka smiled shaking her head. Kacchan was a funny guy, even though he never aimed to be.

"Then what do you suggest?" she provoked. "Explosion Murderer or whatever the option?"

"Are you stupid? His power has nothing to do with explosions," he snapped, as usual, and she giggled in her hand. Almost two full years in and it still was easy to trigger his ridiculous outbursts.

They walked side by side on the commercial street, and as Ochaco's eyes wandered to the storefronts, something caught her attention.

"Oh, Kacchan, look!" she exclaimed skipping ahead to take a better look at the bakery display. "Mochi!"

"Aren't you on a diet or something?" he said evenly, still uninterested. It was so hard to catch his attention.

"No, why would I be on a diet?" she asked and her cheeks suddenly blushed. "Do I need to?"

"I don't know, aren't girls always on diets?" Bakugo replied and her level of concern grew exponentially, making him gulp. He noticed how she lowered her head, covered her face with her hands.

"I was saving money," she mumbled, a habit she picked from Deku. "But now… diet? Should I go on a diet?" she touched her arms and then her stomach, and that was when Bakugo knew he probably shouldn't mention the diet at all.

Uraraka looked at the bakery with a sad longing and then down to the ground again, a small pout changing her profile, and Bakugo sighed.

"Fuck," he said with frustration and she looked at him. "I forgot something. Why don't you go ahead and I'll catch up with you later?"

"Huh?" Uraraka said and then nodded. "Okay."

She waved a goodbye and kept going towards the dorms, and Bakugo waited for her to turn the corner before he entered in the bakery. Not that he was getting softened by her, but he'd make up for being an ass to her _just this time_.

Ochaco kept on her way to the dorms, as Kacchan had told her to do, but she took a detour, figuring that maybe she could use the exercise. She'd go through the west gate and cross the school's property to the dorms, prolonging her walk.

It was a shame that a simple comment sent her on a spiral about her weight, but it was nearly impossible to avoid that train of thought. Uraraka was a hero in training and she needed to keep her body in shape; if someone, _anyone_ thought she was slacking off on her training, it could jeopardize everything.

She made a turn to go up the stairs that would take her up to the street behind U.A. instead of going up front; she'd to go up a hill to get here, and take the stairs to the street, and then walk a few hundred meters to get to the gate; in the back of her mind, Ochaco knew that she shouldn't be so constantly distracted, but it was hard not to overthink. If she was to become a hero, her brain had to work all the time.

About halfway up, Uraraka heard a commotion of shouts and fast feet. She held her bag closer to her chest as soon as the first person turned on the stairs, making her best to stay close to the handrail as almost a dozen kids her age and younger dashed down in a frenzy, probably running from something or someone, though she couldn't tell – they seemed so happy and joyful and loud.

One of them at the back of the group collided with her, a big guy with what looked like a rock quirk, hurting her shoulder and knocking off her balance.

"Hey! Watch it!" she exclaimed feeling her feet off the ground when another kid hit her from behind.

It happened in a second, yet in slow motion; she saw herself getting closer to the steps, less than a second closer to tumbling down the stair. She let go of her purse, trying to find time to use her quirk and float the hell out of there, but something or someone kicked her in the shin – not on purpose, she supposed, seeing that the person was tripping too – and she lost a precious second of concentration, hitting her head on the handrail.

Her already sore shoulder hit the steps, propelling her downward, and a gush of air raised the dirt of the street as Uraraka's eyes watered and closed. She hit her back on the steps too, starting an accelerated descend, and only part of her brain tried to tell her to raise her arms to protect her face and head. She rolled once before starting to lose consciousness and the last thing she remembered were strong arms catching her limp body.

-x-

Through the front gate, like a normal person, Bakugo Katsuki headed to Class A's building carrying a box filled with ocha in different flavors because he wasn't sure which one Uraraka liked best. He passed by the common hall and peeked inside to see if she was there, but she wasn't, so he headed to the kitchen, having the same result. He passed by Yao-Momo on his way to the elevator and asked if she had seen Uraraka in the showers or something, got a no in response, and went up to her room, knocking on her door with no response whatsoever.

"Where the fuck did she go?" Bakugo wondered out loud, looking down at the box of sweets he had bought to apologize. He didn't even know why he felt the need to apologize, but now that he was here, might as well.

Frustrated, he leaned against the gap's rail and looked down. When in hot days like that one, they liked to keep the windows open, to let the air circulate, and looking through the gap's glass ceiling, Bakugo realized with a frown where she _might_ be. Groaning with displeasure, he took the stairs down and then to ground 2, and knocked at Deku's door insistently until he opened the door.

"Kacchan?" Deku said with a mix of fear and surprise that made Bakugo roll his eyes.

"Yah, Deku, is Round Face with you?" he said cutting right to the chase.

"What?" Deku said and Bakugo pondered if he'd rather repeat himself or punch that idiot in the face. The later was a much more interesting option. Luckily for Midoriya, he caught up on the question quickly. "Uraraka? No, I'm alone."

As if to confirm it, he opened the door wider, showing his ridiculous room with nothing but All Might decorations, no Uraraka around. Bakugo frowned, having run out of options already. Uraraka had to be back by now, seeing that she was ahead of him and the walk from the bakery to the dorms was mere fifteen minutes. Maybe she'd gone to the B building to talk to some friend? He wouldn't know, he barely noticed his classmates, let alone other classes.

"Is everything okay?" Deku asked. Bakugo had forgotten about him, the other boy's plainness made him invisible most of the time, but this time he caught Katsuki by surprise. "She was with you this afternoon, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, but we got separated," he said vaguely. "She was supposed to be back."

In a last resource, Bakugo fished his phone from his pocket, ignoring Izuku's concerned look. There was no message from Uraraka, so he decided to call her just to make sure. Downstairs, thanks to the building's gap, he could hear his colleagues chatting in concerning tones, but he ignored them. Midoriya stepped to the corridor and closed the door behind him, his phone in hand too.

"She didn't send me anything," he said. "Maybe Iida knows from her?"

"Shut up," Katsuki groaned, for he could swear he was hearing her stupid phone ring, so he looked over the edge of the gap. She picked up the call in the fourth or fifth ring. "Where the fuck are you, Round Face?"

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the call. Midoriya joined Bakugo into looking around the building to see if they could spot her.

" _Mr. Bakugo?_ " a male voice said, instead of Uraraka's overly sweet squeal, and it made his body grow cold. " _This is officer Tamakawa_."

"Officer? Where's Uraraka?" he said, and perhaps his tone was a little alarming, because Deku looked at him wide-eyed.

" _We don't know_ ," the officer said. " _We found her things on the street behind U.A. after we were chasing a few delinquents, but no sign of her. We came to see if she was here, even though her student card is in her purse. The other students say you were with her today, is that correct?_ "

"Yes, we were visiting some agencies, but she came back ahead of me. We got separated just half an hour ago, tops."

" _Where are you, Mr. Bakugo? Can we talk?_ "

"I'm here, I can see you," he said, having indeed spotted the cat officer pacing down the ground level, Uraraka's bag in his hands. The officer looked up the gap. "Second ground."

" _I see you_ ," he said with a solemn nod. " _Can you come down?_ "

"Yeah, of course."

"That's officer Tamakawa," Midoriya said as Bakugo closed the phone finishing the call. Bakugo had forgotten about him again. "What's he doing here, Kacchan? Did he have Uraraka's phone?"

Even though Katsuki would rather ignore Deku for the rest of his life, the idiot still was one of Uraraka's closest friends and it'd be just too mean to keep information from him, so he just walked ahead of the other boy in angry steps, the box of mochis in his hand already half smudged and his jaw locked as the words came out.

"They found Round Face's things behind the school or something, but no sign of her. Since I'm the last person who saw her, they want to talk to me."

"The _police_?" Deku exclaimed, following Bakugo downstairs. "I hope nothing bad happened to her."

Katsuki only groaned in response, but deep down he hoped the same. He held the box of sweets a little tighter. God forbid the only day he decides to leave that nosy teddybear unattended she'd disappear under their noses.

-x-

It was too bright for her injured head, so it took a while for Uraraka to open her eyes and focus them. She was hurting all over, couldn't recognize the place no matter how hard she forced her brain to work, and it was impossible not to panic.

Luckily for her, Ochaco was a hero in training, and that was her chance to put everything she learned into practice. She stood still for a moment waiting, listening, trying to capture as much as possible of the room. She was in a soft bed under a light sheet, and she was facing a plain grey wall with large windows in dark glass.

She rolled on her back, hissing when her shoulder protested, internally cussing herself for making any noise, even though a teeny tiny part of her told her to relax. If Ochaco's mind wasn't playing tricks on her, and she really didn't think it was, she could swear the person who rescued her was the Masked Blur.

The silence in the room was only broken by her careful breathing and the tick-toking of a wristwatch on the nightstand, and with her good arm she reached out to see what time it was. To her surprise, the watch wasn't counting the time, but it actually was marking a countdown, much like the… clocks on the walls. And there were plenty of those.

Frowning, Uraraka gingerly sat up staring at the wall opposite to the windows. This one didn't have windows, but it had four or five clocks all with different countdowns, and around them were pictures and more pictures, doodles and photos, and at first, from where she stood, Ochaco couldn't figure out what they were about, so she got up and limped to the wall, realizing that they were actually photos of her class – class A of U.A. – and most of them were of… her.

Flabbergasted, Ochaco tried to memorize as many of those pics as she could, knowing that it was impossible. Now that she was up and walking, she could process the place better. It was a large flat, larger than any Masutafu apartment she'd ever seen, perhaps a commercial building? Right in the middle, there was the elevator, and to the right was a box in tempered glass where the sound of running water came from, a bathroom.

Her eyes went back to the pics; practically all of them were from events she remembered – events from the past four months or so – except for one.

With trembling fingers, Ochaco reached for the photo, noticing for the first time that her hand was bruised, though it didn't hurt as bad as her shoulder and back. Her fingers grasped the photo with uncertainty, her brain working extra hard to make any sense of it, but there couldn't be. It just couldn't, because she'd seen that place in many, many photos, but never ever in real life.

She wondered if it was some sort of photoshop trick made by Mei, but she didn't let that silly idea grow legs; Hatsume was a lot of things, but her selfishness was her greatest feature, she wouldn't manipulate something that didn't benefit her. What benefit she could get from photoshopping Uraraka and Deku in Honolulu?

Ochaco plucked the photo from the wall to take a better look at it, but she felt the sweat damp her forehead and her legs tremble. She definitely wasn't in her best shape, and she should get out and go back to U.A. as soon as possible to pay a visit to Recovery Girl.

With that in mind, Uraraka limped to the other side of the room, beyond the elevator, and peeked inside the boxy bright shower room. It looked like something out of an American high class architecture catalogue, some sort of cascade causing a beautiful indoor effect. Hanging on a stall by the door, she found the Masked Blur's clothes, and she couldn't help but reach out and touch it.

She really had been rescued by him, then, and he brought her to where? His place? Wouldn't it be safer to take her back to school? She had been mere five minutes from the west gate.

There was a mirror in that toilet-slash-shower room, and Uraraka looked at her reflection, noticing a purple bruise on her left temple – a match to her left shoulder, the main parts of her that took the first beating of the stairs – but overall she looked fine. Aching and bruised, but fine. She looked down at her hand, at the photo she still held, wondering what it meant, and the sound of a faucet being closed caught her attention.

Startled, Ochaco stepped back when she saw the cascade wall slid open, realizing too late that it wasn't a wall at all, but a door to the shower, (honestly, she should've made the connection sooner, but her head was a mess) and unable to flee from there too fast because of her limp, she stumbled on her own feet as she saw a hand reach out for a towel hung on the wall.

It was him. The Masked Blur, it was him and she would find out who he was! She couldn't move from there – even though she should – because she would finally meet one of her heroes. So what that he was just fresh of a shower? When would she have the opportunity to see who he was again?

Uraraka held her breath, braced herself, and only part of her noticed that his right hand had all too familiar scars. He got the towel, male hands of a muscular arm, and rolled it around himself before stepping out of the shower, his short hair dark and wet under the light, his ripped torso a constellation of scars, whether thin or large, and most of them caused by the same thing: his quirk. Green eyes meet hers and she gasped, unable to conceal the image she had of her friend and the one of the guy in front of her. Out of her open mouth, she could only say one thing –

"Deku?"

"Ochaco," he breathed out and immediately blushed, wide eyes mirroring hers. She covered her mouth taken aback by his boldness, and stepped back trying to make any sense of it, her hips hitting the sink.

"Deku, how are you here? Weren't you with Iida and Mina visiting agencies?" she asked, her voice muffled by her hand.

"Ocha- uh, Uraraka, it's complicated, but I need you to believe me," he said stepping closer and she stepped back again, trying to keep a safe distance from him at least until it was sorted out. He looked dead serious right into her eyes, but she could not, for the love of God, make sense of him. "I… came from the future."

" _Of course you did,_ " Ochaco said, her hand dropping to her side. It was a tad difficult to concentrate when Deku was practically naked, his hair dropping water down his neck, the drops traveling further down to the towel wrapped around his hips. She shook her head and forced her eyes to _stay up_. "That's ridiculous."

"And it's the truth," he said somberly. Uraraka frowned.

"The future? _You came from the future?_ Deku, that's not even possible."

"Isn't it, really?"

Uraraka closed her mouth, tried to think back to every time the Masked Blur saved them, and the math didn't match. Deku had been by her side several times, and certainly he couldn't bend time, be in two places at the same time, right? She shook her head, part of her wished the act would put her ideas in place, but doing so was a bad idea, because her neck hurt from the hit she took earlier.

"Easy, now," Deku said reaching out and pushing her hair back delicately. Ochaco gulped, taking a tentative look at his right hand again, at the same scars she'd grown familiar with, reminiscent from their first semester as U.A. students. "Does it hurt?"

"Why are you doing this?" she gathered the courage to ask. "Why would you even want to come back?"

She had read a book once about this girl who had a magical collar that allowed her to take more classes than fit in her school schedule, and it reminded her of Bakugo's theory of some secret U.A. project. Did Deku have some sort of deal with the school that granted him some privileges? All of them wanted to be heroes, class A and other classes included, so if they held different standards for him, would that be fair?

None of those things made sense with the response he gave her.

"I came back for you," he said simply, his eyes buried in hers. Uraraka felt her cheeks redden as her heart raced. Deku was standing so close to her, and even though he wasn't touching her anymore it clearly felt like it, the skin he'd brushed before spread warmth like wildfire.

"Me?" she managed to breathe out, and then she gulped. That couldn't be right, him coming back for her? Why the hell would he do that? Uraraka stepped sideways, towards the shower room's door. "Deku, stop playing tricks, this is not funny."

"You still don't believe me?" he said, and maybe it was in her head, but he sounded hurt.

"That you came from the future? Sounds like bullshit. What is this place you brought me to? What's with the clocks and the pictures? What's up with _this_?" she showed him the picture of them in Hawaii, not the least surprised to be shaking. There were plenty of emotions cursing through her at the moment. Deku smiled warmly.

"We get to go before we expected, your parents… they were so thrilled," he told her and she closed her eyes, tempted to accept the imagery but skeptical about its reality.

"Deku, you can't _say_ that-"

"You're hurt," he cut her. "And people are worried and sick about you, me included. You should call the dorm."

Ochaco frowned at him and he ever so calmly pointed her to a table, where a couple of phones rested innocently, one black and the other silver; none of them were hers.

"The police have your things," he explained. "Call the dorm. Officer Tamakawa will pick it up, ask you a few questions. Then you can ask to talk to me – the me in the future – and you'll know."

He watched her from a safe distance as she limped to the desk and hovered her hand over the phones, wondering which one to choose.

"They are scripted, you can choose any of them," he said.

Ochaco picked the black phone and fumbled a bit to unlock it, her hand incredibly weak from the fall. She really needed to pay a visit to Recovery Girl. She dialed the dorm's number, only partially surprised to see that it was actually one of the contact numbers in the phone, and she only had to wait for a couple of rings before the call was picked up.

" _U.A. 2-A dorms, this is officer Tamakawa_ ," a male voice said, quickly linked to the cat image in her mind, and Uraraka looked up at Deku with wide eyes, partially surprised he had gotten that right. " _Hello?_ "

"Yes, officer, this is Uraraka Ochaco," she responded quickly.

" _Miss Uraraka, are you okay? Are you lost? Hurt?_ " the officer asked covered by a layer of antsy chatter in the background. His voice became distant for a moment, but still very clear. " _Kids, come on! I need space_ and silence."

" _SIR, YES, SIR!_ " she heard her friends say in unison, which made her chuckle and warmed her heart a bit. They really were worried about her.

" _Now_ ," Tamakawa was back. " _Can you tell me where you are, what happened and if you need help coming back to U.A.?_ "

Uraraka looked at Deku again seeking direction. He still was barely dressed, but he seemed interested in helping her, for he mouthed ' _a couple of blocks_ ' to her, meaning that he knew what was asked and what she needed to answer.

"I had a pretty bad fall, officer," she finally answered averting her eyes from Deku. "And someone helped me out, but I'm going back to school now. I'm just a couple of blocks away."

" _How did you fall, Ms. Uraraka?_ " he asked. She could hear the sound of a pen against paper, supposed he was writing down everything she was saying.

"Some kids, they were running around, bumped into me when I was going up the stairs," she explained. "I lost my footing and fell. Lost my things too."

" _Your things were found scattered on the stairs of the back street, don't worry_ ," he said with precision. " _Now, if you don't mind, can you tell us where you are so we can go get you?_ "

"Oh, I'm really close, there's no need," she said, even though she didn't really know how close from school she was. U.A. occupied several square meters in Musutafu, and she probably still would have to walk a great deal to get to the infirmary to get fixed. "I'll just take small steps and then go see Recovery Girl."

Deku passed by her and picked the silver phone from the table, quickly typing something before putting it on the table again. The lit screen showed her a map with their location and how close they were from school. It was near the front gate, meaning that she wouldn't have to walk _that_ much after all, but the avenue was a bit of a stope. She felt tired just to think of it.

" _Just let us meet you halfway, miss_ ," the officer said calmly. " _What's your route?_ "

"Main Street," she said looking at the map. "And then Shimura Avenue."

" _Are you alone? What about the person who helped you?_ "

"I'm alone, they just… made sure I was okay and sent me off," she lied, feeling it roll easily out of her tongue. "Officer Tamakawa, may I speak with Deku, please?"

" _Who?_ " he asked confused and she stuttered.

"Uh, Midoriya. May I speak with Midoriya?"

" _Of course_ ," he said and then his voice sounded distant again. " _Midoriya boy, she wishes to talk to you_."

" _M-me?_ " she heard Deku stutter, something that made her blush again. Silly crush! It didn't help that he was standing right on the other room semi-naked.

Wait.

" _Uraraka?_ " Deku said on the phone, but it took her a moment to answer, for she was looking down at the photo in her hand. " _Uraraka, are you okay?_ "

"Deku," she said, her head up as she looked at the bedroom she'd been just a few minutes ago. She headed there with careful steps, partially watching this other Deku put some pants on, his defined back filling her view. "How did it go at the agency?"

There was a sigh on the other side of the line, a nervous laugh that made her smile. Deku. She held the photo close to her chest unconsciously.

" _Is that what you want to talk about?_ " he asked humorously. " _What about your fall? Are you hurt?_ "

"Been better, not gonna lie," she said softly.

" _Look, some of the officers are leaving to meet you halfway now. Yao-Momo and Iida are going with them_."

"Oh, no, I don't want to be of any trouble!" Ochaco exclaimed feeling embarrassed. Deku tsc-ed, something rare coming from him.

" _Don't be silly. We all can't wait to see you well and home_ ," he said. " _Even Kacchan, if I dare_."

" _DEKU, DO YOU WANT TO FUCKING DIE?_ " she heard Bakugo shout making her laugh. Deku's voice dropped considerably.

" _Don't let him fool you, he was worried and sick_ ," he confessed and she smiled. Who said Kacchan was a lost cause?

"It's good to hear your voice, Deku," she said without thinking and it didn't take a lot of neurons to know that she was blushing through and through. Something told her that he'd be blushing too, only because he was such a dork when girls talked.

" _It's good to hear yours too, Uraraka_ ," he said softly. " _I'll see you soon, right?_ "

Ochaco nodded.

"Yes," she said firmly. "Pretty soon."

They said their goodbyes and she hung up, looked at this other Deku again. He had a shirt on, now, a white All Might Tee that made her smile. He really was Deku, wasn't he?

"You came back for me?" she asked showing him the pic again and he nodded. "Are we together?" he nodded again. She offered him the photo and he took it careful not to touch her. "That's… not supposed… I promised myself…"

"Something changes," he interrupted her scrambled thoughts and she looked at him, realizing she'd averted her eyes.

"How old are you, Deku?" she asked. "Did you finish school yet?"

"I'm eighteen," he said and she frowned. "And no."

Uraraka nodded somberly and a clock started beeping, indicating that time was running out for something she wasn't aware off.

"I should go, the police are coming looking for me," she said and Deku nodded.

"It's about time," he said. "Be careful out there okay?"

"Okay," she said low and started on the opposite direction from the bedroom, stopping to say only one thing more. "Deku? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Deku smiled, then.

"I know."

-x-

Ochaco didn't really know why she decided to keep future Deku's identity a secret, because she was certain everyone in her class – and perhaps in the school – was dying to know who he was, but it felt like the right thing to do. He had deliberately taken her to his place, let her know who he was for a reason, didn't he? To some extent, she figured it was her job to find out what he was up to, and she wouldn't be able to do so with everyone from class on top of him too.

The police found her when she was about to turn on Shimura Avenue, the worst part of her walk back home, and for that she was grateful. With Momo by her side in the backseat, and Iida in the passenger seat, officer Tamakawa recorded her testimony as he drove to the school's infirmary, where she got a couple of recovery kisses. No bone was broken, but Uraraka had gained a set of bruises that would soon disappear.

"We were really worried about you," Momo told her as they headed to the A dorms, Iida going ahead to prepare everyone for her return. "When the police came with your things, we thought something really bad had happened. Class-A curse, you know?"

"It could've," Ochaco said somberly with a nod. Her neck wasn't hurting anymore, but she was beginning to feel sleepy. "Those kids, they were not worried about the people in their way."

She covered her mouth when she yawned and Momo smiled warmly at her.

"You should go straight to bed, Ochaco, you've been through a lot today," she reasoned. "What, with going around with Bakugo out of all people, and then this."

Uraraka chuckled.

"Momo, Kacchan is not that bad!" she said. "He just doesn't know how to do friends."

"I will just take your word for it for now, Ocha," Momo said elbowing her and both girls giggled.

"Anyway," Ochaco said with a hand on the door to push it open. "I really should greet everyone first, and then I'll go to bed."

And that was how she only got to go up to her dormitory an hour after arriving in school. She was so tired, and yet she couldn't avoid her friend's questions, embarrassed to have fallen and caused so much trouble to everyone, but even more embarrassed to look directly at Deku and think every single time about how his future self was so, _so hot_.

That wasn't an appropriate thought! And yet, she kept coming back to it. Future Deku's face wasn't that soft, it was angular and strong, more like the superhero that inspired him so much than the boy that hugged her and welcomed her back. That seemed to be the only difference, thought. He wasn't taller, his shoulders weren't broader. He was lean and muscular, just like this Deku.

It made sense. He said he was eighteen and didn't finish school yet, meaning that his coming back would happen in about a year and a half. How much can a person change in just eighteen months? Surely not much.

Just his face. It was different, for sure. Harder, as if he'd lived through something that modified him from deep inside. Sadder, even, if she dared. Or maybe, she didn't know… but maybe… damaged.

A knock on her door brought her out of her reverie. She was exhausted and yet she didn't manage to close her eyes yet. Exhausted, but charged – if such things were even possible. With heavy feet, Ochaco inched to the door, grunting something as the knocking continued, and it only stopped when she opened it.

"Kacchan," she exclaimed with a tired smile. "You weren't downstairs."

"Yah, it was too busy downstairs, and they are too loud," he said. His hands were behind his back and he avoided looking her in the eyes, but she was delighted to see him at her door. Deku wasn't joking when he said that Kacchan cared. "Look, I'm sorry I sent you off alone, I shouldn't have done that."

His apology was so unexpected that Ochaco's heavy eyes opened wide with the surprise, her mouth hanging slightly open. To complete everything, Bakugo blushed.

"And…" he continued, going easy on his words in order not to crash them together. "I'm sorry about the diet thing, I shouldn't have said that. It was just a stupid joke. You don't need to be on a diet, you look great!" Kacchan gulped and got even redder when she smiled at him. "And you're really hard worker, so…"

From behind him, he produced a small box with the logo of the bakery they had passed by earlier and offered it to her, so Ochaco took it with both hands and carefully raised the lid, only to find seven multicolored mochis that helped turn a dull day into a good day. Bakugo cleared his throat.

"I ate one because it was taking so fucking long for you to arrive and the kitchen was full of policemen, so I couldn't get something to eat."

"Kacchan!" she exclaimed moved and picked one of the mochis, gave it a tentative bite. Amazing, as usual. Content, Ochaco bowed in gratitude. "Thank you so much."

"It's nothing," he replied stepping back, not a fan of too much contact, if her guess was correct. "Just get some rest, tomorrow is a big day."

"Yes, thank you again, Kacchan."

"Whatever," Bakugo said, walking back to the endo of the corridor quicker than he needed to.

She waited until he was at his door and waved a goodbye from across the gap before going back inside to enjoy her sweets, and then have some sleep. She was so tired.

-x-

The end of semester meant that Ochaco was too busy to go look for the other Deku. Not that she would actually _look_ for him, she wasn't even _thinking_ about him.

Okay, that was a bit of a lie, but the final exams week really occupied her mind practically all the time. She had finished her first year in a bit of a low, so she really needed to raise her grades this time around, and there was nothing – _nothing_ – that would distract her.

As soon as she got her much deserved A, Uraraka allowed herself to breathe a little, and she went with the girls to the mall for some shopping and ice cream before U.A.'s traditional summer camp.

"Ah, I'm so glad that the exams are finally over!" Mina exclaimed relieved and they all agreed. They walked as one group, a bunch of shopping bags hitting on their legs as they turned in every corridor.

"Ochaco gets pretty intense during exams, is a little scary," Toru said with a giggle and Uraraka blushed. "But don't worry, we're getting used to it already."

All the girls laughed and Ochaco hid her face with her hands, her bags falling down to her elbows.

"I'm sorry, I just really don't want to slack off, and when things start to distract me, I have to focus really hard," she justified her actions, her voice muffled by the hand that covered it, and the girls laughed more.

"Yeah, Ocha, we all know what keeps distracting you, kero," Tsuyu elbowed her, making Uraraka drop her hands and look at her confused.

"Huh?" she asked.

They had stopped in front of the ice cream shop and looked dreamily at the display of flavors through the window as Uraraka blinked at Asui. The frog girl didn't look the last bit shaken, but on the other hand, Tsuyu rarely was shaken by anything.

"Izuku," she said plainly, and the other girls giggled. "He's in your mind all the time, isn't he?"

Uraraka moved her hands nervously, trying to dismiss Asui's words, but the girls wouldn't leave her be, not now that the holidays were upon them and the summer camp would soon occupy their time. Those few days were the only time they had to truly relax a little, and there wasn't a better way to relax than gossiping.

"Don't even try it, Ocha, everyone knows you're into him," Mina provoked, pushing her inside the shop where they all got in line to order.

"I'm not," she guaranteed, her voice thin with nervousness. "Not anymore, at least."

"What do you mean, not anymore?" Momo asked frowning at her. "I could swear only yesterday you stuttered and blushed whenever your eyes crossed."

"Momo!" Ochaco exclaimed betrayed, and her friends smiled smugly. "It's not it."

"Look, why would you want to stay away from him in the first place?" Jiro asked and pointed at the strawberry ice cream to get her order. "He's super sweet and caring, he freaking adores you, and he's not half bad to the eyes."

"Yeah, he's pretty ripped," Toru agreed, being echoed by the other girls. Uraraka felt herself getting redder.

"If you like him so much, why don't you go for it?" Ochaco practically shouted, making all the girls look at her with surprised expressions, except for Kyoka, who just slowly turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you giving me your permission?" she asked calmly, smirking. Uraraka closed her mouth, trying to contain a snark. "If you're so over him, then you won't mind if he hooks up with someone else, right? Say, tomorrow at 3-F's party?"

"What? Party?" Uraraka replied shaking her head. All the girls were staring at her, so she had to think fast. "No, I won't mind, why would I?"

If Tsuyu were that mundane, she would've rolled her eyes, something Ochaco was fairly sure Toru did. She knew for a fact that it had been Mina's reaction, because the girl was right in front of her, and Momo and Jiro only exchanged a look. It was useless, wasn't it? To try and talk them out of thinking she liked Deku, when they clearly were just friends.

As a matter of fact, now that she had the time to do so, Uraraka had been thinking, and she wasn't keen to the ideas she was having. If she was correct… which was a fifty percent chance, then she shouldn't _keep on liking_ him.

No, she would not give fate a chance, and she would not fall head over heels for Deku, for the sake of both of them.

"Miss, what's your order?" a bored boy behind the counter asked, and only then Ochaco realized that it was her turn to order.

"Yes! Sorry! Uh, chocomint please!"

When they left the ice cream shop, they couldn't help but comment on how that cashier wasn't paying the last bit of attention to them, and Uraraka was so glad the subject had diverted from her.

"It's a relief, really," Momo said licking her cone of cookies and vanilla. "We'd think that by now the boys from our class would learn not to stare at us, but when they think we're not looking, they'll just stare at our boobs or ass."

"Talk for yourself," Jiro replied shrugging. "I was always out of their radar."

"No, you were not," Toru exclaimed, but Jiro interrupted her.

"If you mention Denki or Mineta, I swear to fucking God I'll shove your ice cream up your nose."

Uraraka and Mina laughed, sunlight hitting their faces as they waited for Momo's particular car to pull out in front of them. Something on the top of the building in front of them – the mall's vertical parking lot – caught Ochaco's attention and she looked up while the girls argued.

"You sound a lot like Bakugo when you're angry, Kyoka, kero," Asui said matter-of-factly.

"Might be because of their life-changing field trip last spring," Toru provoked, and just to watch Jiro get all flustered trying to explain herself was a good enough delight.

They all knew that Kyoka and Bakugo couldn't be more than friendly (only recently he started to address her by her last name), but the girls formed a tight group, and a tight group always knows who to make fun of and when. No wonder they were always bothering Ochaco about Deku. There wasn't a day that they didn't try to find out if Jiro liked someone, and if Uraraka wasn't mistaken, the next victim of their jokes would be Momo, who was giving them a ride and who'd been dancing a tango with "the cutest guy in class A" – not that she would ever admit it.

"As if I would ever bother with Bakugo," Jiro continued arguing. "That one cannot be tamed."

Mina shook her head disagreeing and Uraraka opened her mouth to say that that was not true when the movement on the top of the building caught her eye again and she looked up, trying to force her eyes to see clearly what – or who – was there. The car parked in front of them, a real limousine, black and expensive looking, and all the girls started to get inside. Ochaco hesitated, though.

"Ocha? Kero," called Asui looking up at her. "You coming?"

"Hm," Uraraka hummed and then handed her bags to them. "Can you get my things back to the dorms? I forgot about something, so I'll just take a cab."

"Are you sure?" Momo asked putting her bags inside. "We can wait."

"There's no need, really, it's something that might take a bit of time." Ochaco said smiling at the girls. "It's easier to just leave without me. I'll see you guys at dinner."

She waved them off as the limousine rolled away and then crossed the street to get to the parking lot. It was eight levels through elevator and a round of stairs for her to get to the roof, and as she went up, Uraraka wondered about the possibilities. It probably was nothing, or it could be a villain. Maybe it was just one of the security guards? But as she turned around the emergency door, she saw him standing there under the sun.

"Deku?" she called and he turned around, offered her a timid smile. His skin was tanned, and his freckles highlighted his cheeks.

"Ochaco," he greeted, not bothering with using her last name. It fell nice on his voice, so she didn't really mind.

"Should I be worried about something?" she asked getting closer and he shook his head no. "I thought you only were around during dangerous times."

"Maybe I just want to be around," Deku said. Ochaco realized he had a polaroid camera hanging on his chest and she wondered if he was taking pictures of her. "How are you getting ready for the camp?"

"I'm not," she said. "Been trying to avoid the thought for a while. Only have one week of freedom from U.A. shenanigans, you know?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "And there's a party tomorrow, right?"

"Class 3-F," she confirmed looking over the edge of the building. "I'm still thinking if I should go."

"Why wouldn't you?" he asked frowning and she shrugged. "Iida is super excited about it."

"That's just because he's been planning on making his move on Hatsume for a month," she replied and he laughed. "How does that play out?"

"I'd rather keep it a surprise."

Uraraka smiled, assuming that it meant that things went well. She still didn't know about going though, and she didn't want to talk to him about it. How would she say that she was trying to avoid him, and that going to a party with Deku would be the opposite of avoiding? And if she really managed to avoid him – his present self -, the chances of him getting with someone else were really high, something she didn't want to see.

"It's a good party, though," he said looking at her and she turned to look at him too. "Great progress for us."

Ochaco blushed then, and looked down quickly. To her luck, Deku fixed his words fast.

"Not us as in… you know, you and me, but great for me, and great for you."

"Oh," she said looking at him again. Uraraka cleaned her throat to prepare for her next words. "Deku, you keep talking like that and you shouldn't. You shouldn't say that kind of stuff to me, because I don't know how to react. Us together?" she shook her head, having a hard time to piece everything together.

"I'm sorry."

She nodded.

"I can call you Uraraka," Deku said. "I'm just not used to it anymore, but-"

She shook her hand to make him stop talking.

"No, it's okay," Ochaco said quickly. Even as friends, she thought that they were getting at that first name basis. She knew he and Iida already were. "I was just wondering… it's a bit stupid, but I'm curious."

Deku nodded, signaling that he was listening, and she blushed, but didn't look away this time.

"If we are together… in the future… I was wondering, how does that happen?"

To her surprise, Deku smiled, perhaps already waiting for the question – she couldn't tell for sure, it was really hard to read that new version of him.

"We were a bit distant for a while, but… You fall in love with me," he said, and she felt her heart sink. No, no, no, that wasn't right! She _couldn't_ fall in love with him.

(on the back of her head she heard this tiny, mocking voice that sounded like a mix of Mina's and hers, telling her that she couldn't fall in love with him because she already was in love with him, that ship, whether she admitted or not, had sailed already)

Uraraka closed her eyes embarrassed. So much for not having a crush on him anymore, huh? She still daydreamed about being in his arms (and night-dreamed too, but she would never admit that out loud), and she made a mental note to slap herself for it later.

Deku laughed delighted, and Ochaco wondered if she should believe anything he said. Not about them being together, because it was obvious by the way he looked at her, but everything in between…

That talk was not helping her get over him, not at all… Besides, Ochaco still really wanted for Deku – her Deku, the one in the present – to be her m-

Oh, for fuck's sake.

No. No, she was not going there. Decided, she shut the voice in her head up. She would not fall head over heels for Midoriya Izuku, she would not kiss him, or get in bed with him, or ship with him in a love story that would make him come back in time to "fix things". She would move forward, and he would have to do the same, too.

"I should get going," she said pointing at the emergency door where the stairs were, and he nodded.

"And you should go to the party," he said. "It's going to be fun."

"I'll think about it," Ochaco said stepping back. "Goodbye, Deku."

"Goodbye, Ochaco," Deku replied.

Deep inside, she hoped that it would be the last she would hear of him, hoped that her resolution would make him disappear and him coming back never happen. She hoped, hoped, hoped that everything would be back to normal.

-x-

The whole school was talking and breathing that party. It would be held in the 3-F dorms, and all the girls from Ochaco's class had gathered in Yao-Momo's room to get ready, but they were being bothered every now and again by their Rep.

"How do I look?" Iida asked one more time. It was the fourth time he asked for their opinion, and this time, Mina had been the one to open the door.

"Uh, that's a no," she said right away. Ochaco peaked over her shoulder and wondered what the hell was going on in Iida's mind to pick that outfit out. It looked nothing like what he'd normally use.

"No?" he asked, shoulders down.

"No," Mina repeated.

He took a deep breath and rushed back to his room, and the girls exchanged a look. As one of Iida's best friends, Uraraka took matters on her own hands to solve that problem.

"Excuse me, girls," she said passing by Mina. "I've got this."

Ochaco took the elevator all the way downstairs, crossed to the boys' side and went up to 5th floor again; such logistics were necessary in U.A.'s daily life. Through the gap they could hear Iida going about in his room two levels down, making a mess that was totally unlike him. And that was _all_ because of a girl. Pushing down a chuckle, Uraraka knocked on Todoroki's open door.

"Hey," she greeted with a smirk and Todoroki frowned at her, probably suspecting that she was up to something. As if on cue, they heard a crash. "I… _we_ were hoping you could help with that."

"Ask Yuga," he suggested and Ochaco shook her head no.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"I'm not a fashion consultant, Uraraka-"

"But you know how to look good," she cut him with a smile, and Todoroki sighed. "Come on, help him out."

"And help us out in the process!" Kyoka shouted from across the gap. Rolling his eyes, he got up.

" _Fine_ ," Todoroki agreed and Ochaco clapped excitedly.

"Yay, thanks!" she exclaimed and gave two thumbs up to the girls as he passed by her and took the stairs. Uraraka took the elevators again to go back to Momo's room and she was passing by the gap when she heard Todoroki's calm, yet firm voice again.

"Okay, you need to be rid of that, why do you even _have_ that?"

Luckily for everyone involved, Iida's fashion problems were solved in time for them to arrive at the party just when it was beginning to gain fuel. Class 2-A didn't go all together, some of them were already there, but Ochaco made sure to go with her two best friends.

"I'm not sure about this," Iida repeated nervously. They already were outside the dorm's door. "Maybe I shouldn't go. I better go back and-"

"Tenya," Deku said taking his arm to stop him from going back. "You're being ridiculous. How long has it been since you and Hatsume started this tango?"

"Yeah, Iida," Ochaco said on his other side, together, they were pushing him through the door; the ground level of 3-F dorms was bursting with music and chatter. "It's time this ship sets sail."

Iida looked from Uraraka to Midoriya, frowning at them.

"Are you two seriously-"

"Tenya, you came!" Hatsume exclaimed excitedly, suddenly appearing in front of them. Ochaco smirked and exchanged a look with Deku, noticing that he was smirking too. They let go of Iida's arms then.

"I came!" he replied, his voice an octave too high, and then he cleared his throat. "Hi, Mei."

"Hi," she said grinning at him warmly. "Hey guys."

"Hey," Ochaco and Deku replied at the same time and stepped back.

"We'll leave you two to it," she said with a suggestive wink, Deku pulling her by her sleeve delicately.

"To… _talk_ ," Midoriya added, and they both left them not even hiding the giggles behind hands. She had so much fun with Deku, Uraraka often forgot why she should be avoiding him. "Wait, wait."

Deku pulled Ochaco closer, the both of them kind of hiding behind a group of students, and they watched as Hatsume said something, they guessed by the way she touched Iida's shirt, about his clothes, and then showed him something on her boots. She pressed a button on its heel and suddenly she was taller enough to be head to head with him.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Ochaco said turning to Deku with her hands on her cheeks when Hatsume stole a kiss from Iida. "That wasn't hard at all, don't you think?"

"It was a long time coming," Deku reasoned and smiled at her sweetly, making something inside her move, and she blushed suddenly realizing how close they were from each other.

It was such a mixed feeling, being this close to him, and then knowing that other Deku from the future. The Deku who told her to come, because it would be a good night. Now that she thought back to it, she wondered if there was some sort of meaning behind his words. Did the days get bad? Was that the real reason he came back, to stop bad things from happening? Haven't he been doing that already?

"Midoriya!" Kyoka called. She was in the group of people that was chatting in front of them and she had a bottle of beer in her hand. "You've got to listen to this, you're going to _love it_."

"What is it?" he asked getting closer to them. Deku even tried to bring her with him to the group, but Ochaco stood her ground urging him to go without her with a hand gesture. She needed to keep a safe distance between them.

"His little brother has a super neat quirk," Kyoka told him. Someone gave her another bottle and she passed it to Deku. "I'm sure you're going to love it."

"Yeah, he's going to try for the hero course next year," a blonde guy said super excited. "If he makes it, he'll be the first hero of the family. I mean, hero in training."

"You're from the general course, aren't you?" Deku asked and the guy nodded. "Are your quirks related?"

 _That was Deku for you_ , Ochaco wondered watching him talk. _Always the guy to observe and analyze and praise everyone he knew for their good traits_. Deku was a leader, and sometime she thought that the reason she felt so drawn to him was because of that leadership of his.

(but she knew better. She knew what was happening in the depths of her heart, and in some ways it was _killing_ her)

"Ocha," Toru called touching Uraraka's shoulder and making her turn to her right. "Let's go dance."

"Yeah!" she agreed, eager to get out of there. It would do her no good to keep thinking of him.

-x-

Mina joined them with pink drinks that she swore were delicious, and Uraraka guessed they tasted good, but the alcohol behind it still made her feel a little bit funny, so she didn't go further than a couple of cups.

They danced, and danced, and danced, enjoying each other's company, and they even made this girl bubble where no boy managed to get in for a long time, but there was only a certain level of neutrality a group could have in a party, and too soon they were breaking into pairs, finding people to hook up with.

Uraraka didn't want to hook up with anyone, so she got out of the dance floor – that was actually just the gap – to find herself a glass of water. She had to go all the way to the kitchen in order to do that, and to her surprise, found Bakugo there looking grumpy and sipping a beer.

"I know why you're looking that grumpy," she said, finding a clean cup and getting some water on the filter. The kitchen had boxes after boxes of booze and snacks in different stages of consume, and Kacchan only raised an eyebrow at her, which was enough to let her know that he was listening. "Beer. There's no way one can be happy drinking beer, it tastes awful."

Defying all that was logical, Kacchan laughed, and Ochaco wondered if he might be drunk, but his eyes were clear, and his cheeks weren't blushed. There was no physical sign of intoxication in him, so she didn't really know how she made him laugh.

"What was that?" she provoked, daring to rest a hand on his arm. "Are you… warming up to me?"

"Shut up, Round Face," he said, but he didn't mean it. She could tell.

"You know that's unlikely," she said, hopping on the counter and crossing her legs. He stood by her side with his beer. "Why are you hiding back here?"

"I don't like parties," Kacchan told her and her eyebrows shot up.

"Funny," she said cocking her head at him. "One'd think that you were a party guy." He made a face. "What?"

"The problem about parties is that you have to be so _nice_ ," he said disgusted, and she tried not to laugh, hiding her mouth with her hand. "I mean, of course everyone like to be loud and drunk, but the moment you do something other people " _don't like_ "," he made sure to mark the quotation. "You're an _ass_ , or _of course it was you_ and all that bullshit."

"Kacchan…" Ochaco started looking at him tenderly. "Why did you even come, then?"

He drank his beer in long gulps and settled the empty bottle on the counter before answering her.

"Because I _have to_ ," Bakugo answered bitterly. "Apparently, I have to show my face, socialize and be " _likable_ " or whatever the fuck All Might says would be good for my hero career."

"Right, and how's that working out for you?" she asked raising an eyebrow and leaning closer to look him in the eyes, since he was trying to avoid her gaze. "How many people did you talk to in this party? Kirishima and I don't count!"

"Shit," he replied almost playfully, and it made her smile.

"Come on, Kacchan," she poked. "Deku always talk about how when you were little you guys would have fun and how everyone loved you. What changed?"

"Ugh, Deku, Deku, he's all you talk about, do you realize?" he tried to avoid her question, but she wouldn't have it this time.

"I'm not talking about Deku, I'm talking about _you_ ," Uraraka pressed. "What happened, Kacchan?" he didn't answer. "I bet it's because you always have this grumpy face on, you scary people off. Like, they'd rather keep a safe distance."

"Too bad it doesn't work on villains, isn't it?" he said bitterly glaring at her and she shook her head. "Or middle-schoolers."

"I thought you were through with the self-pity," she provoked.

Currently, Ochaco and Kirishima were the only people that could provoke Bakugo and live to tell the story. Other classmates, like Mina and Kaminari, only messed with him, but most of their colleagues didn't take him seriously, something that was driving him to more violent outbursts, and with those outbursts, she slowly realized, he was isolating himself from the others. Kacchan needed friends, real friends, and there was a cycle going on in their class – he didn't let anyone in, and no one was willing to try anymore.

No one but her, Deku and Kirishima, only she had been having more progress, she believed. Uraraka cocked her head more, leaning closer to him, and held his jaw firmly, making him look at her.

"I'm serious, though, Kacchan," she said. "If only you smiled more, it'd make you look so good, people would be uncomfortable."

Bakugo's eyebrows went up and he leaned closer too.

"Are you saying I'm pretty?" he asked through this clenched jaw because she still was holding him, as if it was a hell of a secret, and Ochaco shrugged playfully.

"I _am_ saying you're pretty," she said dropping her hand to support her on the counter and Bakugo straight up laughed. It was a beautiful sound, and she was right, he looked so handsome it was unsettling, as if she wasn't allowed to see such graceful thing.

Uraraka laughed with him, her cheeks getting a darker shade of red. Perhaps she was a little intoxicated, but she understood right there and then that it was easy to play with Bakugo, it was easy to flirt with him. There were no strings attached to them, and nothing was really _serious_ between the two of them.

And to some level, she understood that she _could_ fall in love with him, if she tried to. He was easily, clinically speaking, the hottest guy in their class (and yes, she meant that he was hotter than Todoroki); without a doubt the most intelligent and the single one who knew how to work his quirk better than anyone else. And he… cared about her, she could tell by the way he looked at her and respected her since their first year's battle.

She thought back to when he gave her that box of mocha just a few weeks prior, how sweet of him it had been, and it warmed her heart. It would most certainly be nice and natural with him.

Close by, she heard Deku's laugh, setting an unsettling ghost-y, fuzzy feeling on her stomach that made her dizzy. Her mind went back to future Deku and how he looked at her when he told her he'd come back for her, and Uraraka decided that she couldn't fuel that crazy story any longer. She _had_ to move on.

Standing by her side, Bakugo sighed, catching her attention again. He had found another icy bottle of beer and Ochaco realized that she barely drank her water. He offered her the beer and she accepted it, making a face when the bitter liquid hit her tongue; her grimace got him laughing again.

"You know what I was thinking?" Kacchan asked accepting the bottle she was giving back to him.

"That we should go back to the dorm?" she suggested, a bolder move than she thought she was capable of doing. Bakugo looked at her blankly, a sign of his surprise, and she offered him a reassuring smile.

"You know what, Round Face? We really should," he said, quickly recovering. Uraraka's smile grew.

"Ditch the beer," she said hopping out of the counter and gracefully hitting the floor. "No one likes that shit, the only reason people drink it is to look cool. Like cigarettes."

"You know a whole fucking lot, don't you?" Bakugo commented as they got out of the kitchen and headed to the front door. He did leave the beer behind, though. Uraraka only shrugged in response.

It was a mere five minutes' walk from third year's to second year's dorm, and they were silent most of the way. There wasn't much they could talk after all, and the silence between them was comfortable. It was like that when Ochaco was with Iida and Deku too, and she liked to call it "the friendship silence", when it didn't hurt to keep their mouths shut and they could simply enjoy the company.

Bakugo opened the door for her and let her in first, one of the oldest chivalry moves, and she was so delighted, Uraraka wasn't sure she could stop smiling. She had access to such an exclusive layer of him that she felt honored.

"Mineta?" Kacchan said confused when they passed by the living room, interrupting Ochaco's thoughts. She looked at the room and saw that Mineta was indeed there sitting on the floor working on some sort of scrapbook, she guessed, the I on mute. "You're back already?"

"Hey, guys," he greeted waving, and she waved back. He sounded a little uncertain when he spoke, but it was Mineta, he hardly ever sounded sure of anything. "Yeah, I'm… back already."

"Impressive," Uraraka said. "I thought you'd be the last one to leave."

Mineta offered her a weak smile.

"I just…" he started, taking his words slowly. "Figured that if this year's camp is as intense as last year's, I should get as much rest as I can."

"That's actually a wise decision," Bakugo reasoned and Uraraka agreed.

The way Mineta looked at Kacchan though, with wide, bright eyes, as if he had just heard the best news of the day, made them tilt their heads. Ochaco had only seen that amazed expression towards Bakugo in Deku's face. Realizing his little slip, Mineta shook his head.

"Anyway," he said with a hand gesture, as if waving it off. His eyes fell on Ochaco. "You look really nice, Uraraka."

"Oh," she said, hands to her cheeks, and looked down at the outfit she was wearing. Momo had created it for her, a short black dress light on the hips and black leather boots with soft heels. The dress was short, and it had a bit of a rack, but it was quite conservative, compared to… others. "Thank you."

For a moment, they waited for more. It was Mineta, there was _always_ more, but to their surprise, he kept it quite.

"What?" Mineta said under their stares. "It's Bakugo behind you, I'm not saying another word."

Uraraka laughed and Kacchan smirked, sparkling some flames just for the fun of it and putting his other arm around her shoulders.

"That's a really smart move, Grape Juice, really smart," he said and she shook her head, nudged him to start walking. "We'll get going. Good night, dude."

"Good night, Mineta," Ochaco said happily, walking with Bakugo to the elevator. "Have some rest!"

"Good night," Mineta replied smiling at them. They weren't looking at him anymore, so they didn't see the hint of sadness in his eyes. "You too."

"That's some progress," Ochaco commented turning to look at Kacchan. He hit the up button and the elevator's door opened.

"Yeah, but he still have to learn to respect you when you're alone, not just when you have a guy with you."

To go to Ochaco's bedroom she'd have to take the elevator to the right, but she Kacchan's arm was still around her shoulder and even though they were in front of the elevator, they took their time to actually let go of each other.

It didn't happen. With a gentle tug, Bakugo moved towards the boy's side, his hand on hers as if saying that she could deny that suggestion any moment, but against logic, Uraraka followed him in quietly.

They entered in the elevator and Uraraka pressed the 4th floor button. She didn't know when it happened, but she was holding Bakugo's hand, the one on her shoulder, their fingers laced together.

"It's progress anyway, gotta give him some credit," she argued, still talking about Mineta, as the door closed.

"I guess you're right," he said and looked down at her.

She looked up at him too, and the air between them was thick and needing, sweet even. Kacchan was so close; he smelled of musk and the smile had left his pretty face, replaced by a serious expression as if he was pondering on a complicated equation. Uraraka thought that it was alright. She herself had a bit of a math problem going on in her head as they went up in that metal box. She could feel his breath on her face intoxicating and she thought that it was incredibly hot in there, tried to blame it on the season, even though she knew the source of the heat was _him_. _And if he'd lean just a little closer…_

Before they could do anything, however, the elevator stopped in their level with a _ding_ that took them out of their trance. Uraraka blinked, stepped out of Bakugo's embrace and exited the elevator with him on her heels, the silence that kept them company since they left the party making an appearance again. He was a head taller than her even with those heels, and in her head she processed how much she liked to fit so precisely against him.

She went behind him, both her hands in his as they entered in his room, and she could swear she saw his hand tremble when he closed the door behind them.

Bakugo reached out to the light switch and flicked it up, revealing a neat room that made Ochaco's eyebrows go up. Should she still be so surprised about him all the time? She wasn't sure, but it just kept happening.

Reluctantly, she let go of his hand to step closer to his bed, glanced at the books by his laptop on the table across from the bed. He was reading _Robson Crusoe_ , a bookmark stuck out marking a page, and it made her smile. There was a sticker covering the Apple logo of his laptop, a flag in pink, purple and blue, and she touched it lightly, feeling the edges where it gave away to the top of the computer.

Kacchan came closer again, practically touching her back, and she turned around slowly, looking up at him. His hand went up and ever so gently he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek in the process. Ochacho sighed.

"Kacchan," she said under her breath, and he leaned down, gave her the sweetest of the kisses.

Forget everything that had surprised her before, _that_ was the most unexpected thing she'd ever witnessed him do. His hand went behind her neck, making her tilt her head on an angle that gave him better access, and Uraraka held on to the front of his dry-fit shirt, pulling him closer in the process, her eyes closing automatically.

She opened her mouth, giving him a free pass. His lips were soft, and even though he was being extremely gentle, there was a certain dominance about him – and _that_ she had expected. Bakugo Katsuki was a guy who knew exactly what he wanted, and at the moment, he wanted her.

It was fine, she wanted him too. Closer, hotter, sooner. She wanted him because she knew him very well and she understood that him opening up to her like that was a huge step towards trust.

Ochaco's hands went to his neck, one of them tangling in his hair as she stood on her tiptoes, and Bakugo let go of her face, one of his arms snaking around her waist, the other sliding lower down her hip. Her dress was short, just mid-thigh, and by the way she was stretched it was easier for him to meet her skin, a bold move that sent a shiver up her spine, and she through and through enjoyed it. His hands were rough, calloused and experienced, and she wanted more.

She tugged at the collar of his shirt and they let go just enough for him to take it off, collapsing again in the kiss right after. His hands were immediately in her hips again, and this time he slid them under her dress, grabbing her ass over her panties. With a hand on the back of his neck for support, Ochaco's free hand slid down his chest, feeling every muscle he'd worked on through the years. The boys were getting so much mass and Kacchan's body had always been incredible.

Her fingers reached the belt of his jeans and she tugged at the button of his pants, unable to undo it with only one hand and too distracted by his tongue in hers, by the way he sucked on her lips and how his fingers had found the wet spot on her panties, pressing at it just enough to be an unfair tease. Uraraka sighed on the kiss and she could swear he was smiling, but she couldn't tell for sure because her eyes were closed.

"Holy shit," she said under her breath, because she knew for a fact that he wasn't even near her clit and she already was begging to soak through her panties, and his low, throaty laugh make her eyes snap open.

"Ochaco," Kacchan said with a smirk that illuminated his face. His pupils were dilated with desire and she could feel his hard on through the jeans already. Him saying her first name weakened her knees. "I'm just getting started."

A chill went up her spine, something cold in her stomach, as if in a rollercoaster, and despite her rosy cheeks, Uraraka found herself smiling, mesmerized by his pretty face.

Bakugo lifted her dress, helping her out of it. She wasn't wearing a bra, and she could feel the expectancy from him by the way he took in the sight of her, how he hadn't played with her boobs at all until now. She craved for his touch again, but he postponed it by taking off his jeans first and slipping out of his shoes, so she used the opportunity to remove her boots too, pushing them under his desk with her now bare feet.

Without the restrain of the jeans, she could perfectly see how hard he was, his grey boxers marking the details of his penis. Bakugo opened a drawer and took out a strip of condoms that made Ochaco frown. _How much sex exactly had he been having?_ She rarely saw him with other people, but to be fair, no one had seen them together either, so she guessed he could be sneaky. He detached one of the condoms and was ready to open the package when he looked at her.

"Are you sure?" Kacchan asked.

Ochaco closed her mouth, realizing that she might have been with a dumbfounded expression. She also noticed that she was covering her breasts, more of an automatic response to being half-naked with someone else in the room than from actually wanting to hide from him. _Didn't she choose this?_ She would do this. So with certainty, she lowered her arms exposing her breasts again, watched how Kacchan followed her every move; her fingers hooked on her panties, pushed them down, and she had to bend over to remove them.

Her underwear wasn't _sexy_ , but cute, just a cotton pink pair that she'd chosen because they were her favorite, she didn't even know she'd be taking them off in front of a guy that night. Uraraka didn't even _know_ how to be sexy, but she went with logic, followed her gut. She threw her panties away, without checking to see where they landed, and when she looked up at Kacchan, she saw a wet spot on his boxers too. _Pre-cum_ , she thought to herself, realizing she was doing something right.

She moved to his bed and threw the covers to the wall, and then she laid down leaving enough space for him. On her side, her fist supporting her head, Ochaco saw the exact moment Bakugo snapped out of it; he pushed down his boxers and stepped out of them, his penis pointing ahead with a slight curve up, and then he slipped the condom on before joining her on the bed.

Uraraka rested her head on the pillow keeping her eyes on his the whole time, and he mirrored her movements. They were just distant enough to look in each other's eyes, mix their warm breaths together. When Kacchan spoke, his voice was very nice and soft.

"Isn't it your first time?" he asked and she nodded.

He licked his lips nervously, his lower lip red from their kissing just a few minutes ago. He reached out and touched her cheek, again pushing back her hair, and she took his hand in hers, guided it lower, making sure to brush his fingers on her breast before she placed it between her thighs. His fingers twitched, feeling her out timidly, brushing her labia when she opened her legs making room.

"Katsuki," she said tenderly and got closer, pecked his lips.

He drew in a breath and pressed his lips in hers in an eager kiss, messy with saliva, demanding. Her hands went to his back pulling him closer and his fingers opened up her labia, getting to know her body before they slipped inside her, first one, than finding enough space he added another, making her gasp loudly in the kiss.

Ochaco's sex was warm and slippery, and him fingering her felt better than when she touched herself. There was a time she thought two fingers weren't enough, but two of _Kacchan's_ fingers were something else entirely, she'd forgotten how a guy's hand could be so much bigger than hers. Bakugo worked those fingers inside her at the same time as he trailed kisses down her jaw and to her breasts, sucking on a nipple delicately, adding pressure and intensity as she got more aroused.

With her back on the bed, Uraraka dug her nails on Bakugo's back and shoulders, and moaned sadly when he stopped sucking on her breast. He didn't take any break, immediately moving to work on her other breast, starting slow again and increasing intensity as they grew more comfortable, the change in rhythm also happening with his hand and prolonging her walk to the edge.

She felt all… _enhanced_ , that was the only way Ochaco knew how to put it. As if her senses had gotten a sudden upgrade and she now could see everything clearer, feel everything harder. Katsuki's mouth traced a fire way on her skin, capturing her mouth mid-gasp for another hungry kiss. She moved her hips against his hand, eager for more and he moaned, but under her protests he removed his fingers from inside her and caressed her sex; she was dripping, and to know that made her blush again.

Should she be ashamed of being so horny? Mina was always open about sexuality, so outspoken about owning it, and for the first time Ochaco had the conviction that her friend was right. She reciprocated Kacchan's kisses just as eagerly, anxious to have him inside her, delighted by his weight on top of her.

"Katsuki," she said huskily, placing wet kisses on his jaw, her hand in his hair. "Please."

He let out a shaky breath. Her hard nipples hurt a little for being pressed against his chest and they were beginning to get sweaty; she slid her other arm on his back, grabbed his ass and she was sure her face was completely red, even though she felt comfortable with him.

Bakugo made her spread her legs wider as he positioned himself, his erection stopped poking her stomach when he let go enough to line up with her body. Uraraka's foot rubbed his leg and he shuddered, trembling as he placed his member in her entrance. He started pushing inside her, his face close to hers as he slowly made space letting her adapt to his side.

If Uraraka thought his fingers were large, she could not be prepared for the real thing. She gasped when he entered, her palm on his chest above his heart, feeling his heartbeat increasing as he went deeper. Her knee went up, urging his hips to complete the movement and fill her up, and Bakugo cussed.

"Fuck, Ochaco," he hissed resting his forehead in hers and she smiled. "You feel so good."

The hand that was groping his ass made its way between them and held the base of his penis, making him cuss even more as she stroke him. He still took his time, though, respecting her body until he was sure she wasn't hurting. Bakugo kissed her again once he had fully filled her, this time nice and slowly, and just as slowly he began to move his hips, a completely different rhythm from before, when it was his fingers inside her.

She moaned and bit his shoulder, dug her nails on his back and played with his nipples, nibbled his earlobe and pulled his hair, and he moved increasingly faster, moaning in her skin and cussing under his breath as they neared the edge.

-x-

"Kacchan," Ochaco said under her breath. They were lying on their side under the covers, face to face, and he absently ran his fingers on her shoulder, tracing random patterns on her skin.

"Shhhh," he said looking in her eyes, though his fingers remained on her shoulder. "It's okay."

"What do you mean?" she asked frowning and he smirked.

"Not now," Bakugo said. "Let me have this for a while longer."

She understood him and nodded, just a solemn head movement. Uraraka reached out and touched his cheeks, his pouty mouth, his chin. She leaned closer and kissed him tenderly and he reciprocated it just as sweetly. Never, in her wildest dreams she thought such thing was possible, but that was how it was happening, _just like that_ – sweet and tenderly.

-x-

"Liking what you see?" Bakugo asked smirking. He was standing by the bed and naked. As a matter of fact, they hadn't put any clothes on for the past twelve hours or so, and from the bed Uraraka smiled mischievously.

"You bet," she said eyeing him up and down. One of the most annoying things about Kacchan, Mina had told her once, was that he knew how good he looked, and Ochaco would have to agree. He was so smug it was nerve-wrecking. Didn't mean she'd stop looking, though.

"Gee, you really are shameless, Round Face," he said, feigning annoyance.

Ochaco sat up on the bed, letting the sheet fall to her lap. There was no point in hiding from him anymore, she bared the red-ish marks of his presence all over her breasts. They were light enough not to bruise, but so fresh they still were visible. The same couldn't be said about the scratches on his back. She had made sure to leave marks.

"Right back at ya," she said with a head gesture in his direction and his smile grew.

They had missed breakfast, but they also doubted that a lot of their friends had made it in time too. Maybe Iida, and perhaps Mineta, seeing that he was back before everyone else. And Koda, because he was such a goody-two-shoes they highly doubted he was late for anything ever in his life.

Half of that strip of condoms had been gone by the time Ochaco and Katsuki fell asleep, finally exhausted. Without her mittens, they woke up early in the morning floating a couple of feet from the bed and the laughing fit that took over them soon heated up and had them in each other's skins again, and then led them to that half talk. The first rays of sunshine were beginning to sneak through the curtains when they slept again, Uraraka's head on Bakugo's chest, her arm around his torso.

It was a couple of hours until they woke up again. The room was warm and packed, and Kacchan announced that it was beginning to "smell like ass", which Ochaco kind of agreed, so he'd gotten up and pushed back the curtains halfway, opened the window letting a light breeze make its way inside. They shared a bag of banana chips and had been sitting in this comfortable silence with occasional chatter for a half an hour now.

"Kacchan," Ochaco said softly and he made his way to the bed, sat by her side. The look in his face, though, was the look of someone who knew what was about to happen. "I…"

"It's okay, Ochaco," he said. "I know it was a one-time thing."

Playfully, Uraraka counted her fingers, one to five, and he chuckled.

"It doesn't need to," she suggested, feeling in her chest the hollowness of her words. The sex had been amazing and she was glad it had been with him, but…

"Yah, you really are annoyingly innocent, aren't you?" Bakugo said and started lining his arguments. "Round Face, we're not _in love_. I mean, okay, your nerd ass is not that annoying, and maybe I kinda like you-DON'T JUMP INTO CONCLUSIONS- but this," he pointed at her and then at himself. "Shouldn't be happening. You like someone else, and I…"

"It's complicated?" Ochaco completed for him and Kacchan sighed.

"Sorta," he said and frowned annoyed at her. "You're so damn smart, ain't you?"

Uraraka giggled covering her mouth, and then reached out for him, touched his pretty face. He lowered his eyes, avoiding eye contact with her, but he also put a hand on her knee. These quiet moments… they were so rare with Bakugo – the most explosive, anxious, energetic person she's ever met – that she felt privileged to be part of them. She wasn't sure many people knew about it.

"Thank you, Kacchan," she said, and he looked in her eyes again, nodded. And then-

"Whatever."

-x-

Kacchan had said something else, too. Something that kept Ochaco awake in her bed for the next couple of days.

 _We can't force this, Ochaco,_ he had said. _Maybe… we should just-and if you tell_ anyone _I said that I'll deny to my grave-follow our hearts? Because, I think, there's something you have to do, and something I have to do. And we should do it._

After leaving his room, she had taken a long shower and gone to her room, only leaving to eat. She'd lay down with her mittens on, and she'd replay his words over and over.

It was driving her crazy, those words, because she didn't really know if she should. Do what she had to do, she meant. Because it was a risky move that was tickling her from head to toe, and if she'd get distracted with it, she'd find herself floating a few feet above her bed.

That was future Deku's fault. Uraraka wondered on a loop how that "coming back in time" could work. She wondered if the Deku from the future went back to his time when she decided to hook up with Kacchan, or if the fact that she had had that conversation had made him stay. She wondered if she went to his apartment _right now_ , would he be there? And if she didn't, and left to camp without seeing him again, would he disappear?

She wished he did. Wished he would.

And at the same time, she wished she didn't.

It took her two days to finally get out of the room to see it for herself; Ochaco knew that her friends were worried about her, but she barely talked with anyone before she left U.A.'s property altogether to wander near future Deku's apartment.

The practically abandoned building was in a semi-desert street a couple of blocks from the school; Uraraka bought an ice cream cone, thinking that she'd decide what to do as she ate it – and by "decide", she initially meant "leave", but the ice cream was half-eaten when her feet took her to the front door and to the elevator. Before she realized it, she was going up to his apartment, hoping that he wasn't there.

The elevator's door opened directly in the room, and when it opened, she was just partially surprised to see that everything was still in place – all the photos and the clocks and the boxy bathroom, everything exactly the same. And future Deku. He was there still, wearing his hero costume by the kitchen counter, writing down on a notebook as he sipped some coffee, the whole place smelled like coffee.

Deku looked up as if expecting her. She supposed he might have been, because he was from the future and all, and he smiled when he saw her. Uraraka took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, and stepped in his direction. As if matching her, he walked to her too, leaving the coffee mug on the counter, but still holding on to his notebook.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," Deku said and she swallowed.

"Wasn't going to," Ochaco confessed. "But… Deku, what should I do? You appear out of nowhere and say those things… that we'll be together and I fall in love with you? How am I supposed to react, what am I supposed to do?"

He didn't answer her. He just stood there, in front of her, and there was a sadness in his eyes that shifted something inside her. Uraraka had thought that he had looked worn out before, but now… now it was just heartbreaking.

"It's not fair," she said, her voice thin, her ice cream melting in her hand.

Deku stepped forward, reached out and caressed her cheek tenderly, making her hold her breath.

"I'm so sorry, Ochaco," he said, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. His fingers were calloused, rough, but he touched her with such softness, it made her heart flutter.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but an alarm went off, making Deku close his eyes ever so slowly, take a deep breathe. He dropped his hand and put the notebook safely on an inside pocket of his uniform.

"There's something I have to do," Deku said, and Ochaco breathed out. She didn't even know she was still holding her breath, but she felt so irritated that there was no way she'd be able to keep her lungs locked.

"You touch me like that and then say to have to go?" she asked, letting out the frustration she was feeling. Deku smiled at her.

"I'll be back soon. Wait for me here?"

Sighing, she shook her head avoiding eye contact, and then shrugged.

"What the hell," Uraraka mumbled to herself. Deku passed by her and got his mask, and then he headed to the elevator.

"Don't worry," he said when she turned around to look at him go. "It's gonna be alright. I should know. I'm from the future."

He smirked before hitting the close button and Uraraka couldn't help but giggle. What a prick. Why she chose to stay was a mystery, but since she was there-

The ice cream cone floated in front of her face, startling her, and Ochaco watched it go up with wide eyes, a mix of amusement and confusion. She had no idea when she liberated her powers, and when she looked at her open hand, it was dripping with ice cream. She chuckled again and put her fingers together in her signature move.

"Release," she said and held out her hands for the cone to drop on her palms.

Since Ochaco had to wait (even though she didn't really _had_ to wait), she might as well make herself comfortable, so she headed to the kitchen area and threw the rest of the ice cream in the trash can. She washed her hands on the sink, and cleaned everything up too, because she already was there and she had time to kill.

She poured herself a mug of coffee and went about the loft, trying to figure out what exactly was going on in every single picture in his wall. Here was one from Toru's birthday, and a lot of photos of this year's Sports Festival… she smiled as she saw Momo on the highest step of the podium, her proud smile with the golden medal on her chest, and the way Todoroki was looking at her from his third place, just as proudly. Ochaco wondered when those two would admit their feelings to one another.

After a tender smile to Asui's sweet face in second place, she moved on to the next photo, and the next until she stopped in front of one of the whole class. It was a good pic, a happy one, and she wasn't sure when it was taken, so she plucked it from the wall and turned it around, just to see if there were some notes in the back. Knowing Deku, he had notes for _everything_ , and she wasn't wrong.

 _End of second year_ , it said in Deku's inclined handwriting, _everyone but Mineta_.

Ochaco frowned and turned the photo around again. She could swear everyone from their class was in it, she knew from the first glance. Even Toru, her uniform making a funny illusion with Kaminari behind her, and Ochaco had to pay close attention, look at each and every face of her friends to realize…

"Ojiro, Yuga, Shoji, Kyoka…" she mumbled everyone's names to make sure, and tried to ignore how right in the middle Deku was giving her a piggy back ride, how happy they looked.

She read the note again and her curiosity only grew. Mineta really wasn't in the photo, but was that supposed to be important? Why would it? Shaking her head, she put the photo back where it was and moved to leave the empty mug on the nightstand when she saw the phones.

Deku's phones had an easy "slide to unlock" security, both of them, and she took one in each hand, clicking on the menu button and starring at the lock screen for a few moments. One of them had a picture of All Might in his real form, while the other had a picture of her and Deku that they hadn't taken yet; he was kissing her cheek and she was smiling, cheeks extra blushed and all. The screen went black and she pressed the button again, but she almost dropped both phones when the silver phone – the one with their photo – unlocked.

On the main screen, the background picture was a photo of her with a medal on her chest, a medal from the Sports Festival that she had never won, and the shock of that revelation made her stager back and sit down the bed.

Uraraka left the black phone aside and focused only on the silver phone. The main screen had the usual apps – U.A.'s student app, Go-mail, Sponnify, Instaphoto, Whatsup, Netflex – and an app from an agency in Tokyo. She tried to open that app, but it was out of service, so she moved on to Instaphoto, checking her profile to see what she could find. And what she found…

There were photos of breakfasts at the common hall, movie nights with the girls. Apparently, she would work with Endeavour? And the school camp… they only could publish photos of their location after the summer camp was over, so she had confirmation that Deku came back during their last semester of school.

There were plenty of photos of her and Deku in there, and a lot of them felt very intimate. More than one looked like they were taken in bed, and not all of them were taken by her; they made her feel all funny and fuzzy inside, feelings that she directly connected to Deku from the beginning of their friendship. She opted to check out a video that looked like it was from the Sports Festival and was surprised to see that it was 90 seconds long.

"Huh, they fix that up, that's good," she commented as she waited for it to load.

" _As per usual_ ," Present Mic said in the video. " _Third place goes for two students, and this year it's my pleasure to announce Shinso Hitoshi and Uraraka Ochaco. You know I've been rooting for that Uravity girl since her first year, and Midnight, isn't it great to see her in the higher steps?_ "

" _It sure is, Mic_ ," Midnight replied. " _After last year's women take over, I knew that the boys would come back strong, and it's nice to see one of those bad bitches take a bit of the glory_."

" _Uraraka came a long way this time_ ," Mic continued. " _After last year's fifth place, she worked with none less than the number one hero Endeavour, and did an internship in America last winter to better her numbers. And it paid off_."

America? Was that how she was going to take her parents to Hawaii? Holding the phone tightly with both hands, Ochaco watched as Mr. Aizawa gave her the bronze medal, watched herself marvel at the object with shiny eyes. Aizawa moved on to give Shinso his medal too, and Mic and Midnight were still talking.

" _Now, mustn't be satisfying to see your kid win a medal like that, let alone be the one to give it to th-?_ " Mic was saying, but the video looped back right when the camera moved on to Shinso, in time to see Mr. Aizawa turning his head to the direction, she supposed, of the cabin. _"…As per usual…_ "

"You shouldn't be watching that," Deku said. How did he get there so silently, she had no idea, but to be fair, Ochaco was so focused on what she was doing that everything else disappeared. "It's dangerous to know too much about the future."

Uraraka muted the video and turned the screen to him.

"Endeavour, really? How could I possibly…?"

Deku smiled. She continued talking.

"And I got third place. Midnight said I was the only girl from 3rd year to have a medal. Who got first place?"

"I did," he told her. Apparently, she could know about _his_ future just fine. He sat by her side on the bed, keeping just a safe distance between them without being too far from her. "It was a happy day. Sometimes I think those were the best months of our lives."

Ochaco frowned and looked at him confused, a thought that had been on the back of her head made its way to her tongue.

"Were? Deku, does something bad happens to us?" by the way he looked at her, his sad eyes and the closed mouth, she feared for the worst. "Do I die?"

Deku reached out, pushing her hair behind her ear. He had said that they still were together in the future, so that shouldn't be the case, right? Ochaco's heart was racing and it had nothing to do with him being close to her.

"I won't let that happen," he guaranteed. "I have a plan."

"A plan?" she echoed and he nodded. "And what am I supposed to do?"

"Right now?" he asked and she shrugged, not interested in technicalities. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Ochaco swallowed and shrugged again, her eyes glued to his. Deku still was touching her face, and his fingers slid to the back of her neck, tangling in her short hair delicately.

She moved first, leaning closer to him, and he met her halfway softly putting his lips on hers. Uraraka took a deep breath, unfamiliar with him touching her like that; there was a huge deal of expectation coming from her, because she thought so many times (and immediately pushed the thought down) about being Deku's girl, about how would it be if he'd kiss her and take her in his arms, and now it was actually happening.

His hand on her neck made her tilt her head up, opening her lips to let his tongue inside her mouth and it felt… incredible. The phone fell from her hand when she grabbed the front of his uniform, tugging at the zipper to have a better access to him. She managed to pull it off only letting go from the kiss once, and when the piece was off they locked lips again; his hands went to her hips, pulling her to his lap, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck.

Ochaco gasped when Deku's hands went up under her top, placing firmly around her waist and to the small of her back; her hands slid down his back too, feeling all the muscles she knew were there as they kissed. She got to the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, his hands now on the limit of her bra, and it was like there were sparkles when she touched his skin.

They needed more. It was easy to tell by the way they were pulling at each other's clothes and how their kisses grew hungrier, sloppier. They let go for a moment just to catch their breaths, but also to remove a few more layers of clothes. After their shirts were off, Deku reached to her back to unclasp her bra, his breath hot against her neck, and Uraraka felt her heartbeat increase. Free of the garment, her breasts perked comfortably, still baring some of the traces that Kacchan had left on them.

Deku didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't care. His hands went to her back, bringing her closer to him, and he left wet, warm kisses on the valley of her breasts, went up to her collarbones and neck, and the edge of her jaw, made sure to nip at her earlobe, sending a shiver up her spine before he found her lips again. Meanwhile, Ochaco whimpered and moved her hips against his. She couldn't tell for sure through her jeans, but if he was as invested as he seemed to be, he sure as hell had boner, and she couldn't wait to strip him down completely.

He was another Deku, but he was the one she could have for now. And hell, how she wanted him!

Just to think about it, her mind blanked out and she moved against him more, making him groan in their kiss. He wanted her just as much. She didn't need to see an erection to know.

Deku held Ochaco firmly by the waist and flipped them over, laying her with her back to the mattress, and she gasped with the sudden movement; her nails dug on his shoulders as he kissed her mouth, his hands expertly moving down between them to unbutton her jeans. He resumed kissing when he managed to open her jeans, and then he got on his knees; Uraraka positioned herself better on the bed, her back to the pillows, and by doing so she saw that he did, indeed, have a boner, and an impressive one.

He followed her movements, positioning himself between her legs, and he slid her jeans off, panties and all, with her help. Ochaco arched her back, easing the process, but she felt suddenly overexposed, so she pressed her thighs together, feeling her cheeks grow a darker shade of red. Noticing her suddenly shyness, Deku smiled playfully at her and reached for his own belt.

"Just say the word, Ocha," he said looking in her eyes as he unbuckled his belt and opened his zipper. She pressed her thighs tighter, but not because she wanted to block his access, but because her sex was so tingly, seeking pressure. "And this ends right here."

Ochaco's eyes lingered on Deku's hands as they reached out for her legs. He didn't lower his pants like she expected him to do, only gave a little more space for his erection to grow, and something in her stomach sent another shiver up her spine. She could see a nice line of chest hair going down and hiding behind his underwear, and when her gaze began to go up, she tried to memorize every muscle and every scar in his torso.

She gulped when her eyes met his, and bit her lips aroused. The friction she was making alone wasn't even near close to how she could actually feel (that if Deku was as good at sex as Bakugo, the only experience she'd had so far), and looking in his eyes she opened her legs ever so slowly, temptingly.

Deku's hands that were on her knees slid to the inside of her thighs, making the tingly sensation increase, and with a smirk he leaned forward, started to place small kisses and bites on the inside of her right thigh, going from near her knee and up until he got to her crotch.

She didn't shave, even though it was summer. Ochaco'd been saving the bikini wax for the day before they'd leave for camp, Momo had set all the girls up for a session at her parents' house, and it wasn't like she was hearing any complaints. Even though she was a little hairy, Deku was sucking at her labia nice and wetly, teasing her as much as possible.

He sucked and kissed all around her sex, moving to her left thigh and placing kisses on its inside like he did with her right thigh, which was sexy and infuriating at the same time. Ochaco's breath was rapid and catching as his mouth covered her in soft, loving kisses, and his hands started to slide closer to her middle, raising the expectations.

Deku's right hand was holding tight to the thigh he was exploring, but his left hand made a bolder move, inching closer to her folds. At first, it just traced her labia delicately, making her let out a frustrated groan, but then his fingers made way, pushing her big labia to the sides and rubbing up and down just to test her. Uraraka whimpered with the friction on her clitoris, and gasped when he inserted a finger tentatively inside her.

She was so wet, it was almost embarrassing. She could feel the fire going up her body, starting from the inside of her sex and spreading in waves, and she moved her hips against his hand when he pressed his thumb to her clitoris, added another finger inside her.

"You're so beautiful, Ocha," Deku told her. He was pressing his face against her thigh, looking at her with admiration and… _so much love_ it was intoxicating. Her face was hot and her hands moved to her breasts, teasing her nipples as she moved her hips eager for more. "Gosh," he said and sighed, as if he was overwhelmed.

"What?" she asked under her breath. He was looking at her in wonder, but his fingers hadn't stopped working on her erogenous spot.

"I missed you," he said and leaned over kissed her belly right under her bellybutton. "I love you."

She swallowed his words dry, moved her eyes to the ceiling, unsure of what to tell him. In reality, he loved and missed the Ochaco from the future, the one that wasn't around anymore, but she was the only Uraraka Ochaco at hands reach right now, the same way he was the only Midoriya Deku she could have at the moment without fucking everything up, so it'd have to make do.

Before she had the chance to answer him – with whatever answer she'd come up with in such delicate moment – Deku kissed down to her middle, using his thumbs to spread her labia and have better access for him to lick her clitoris. His warm mouth in her sex sent a new wave of pleasure through her body, made her squirm.

Ochaco's hands went to Deku's hair, urging him to _stay there_. His hair was shorter than her Deku's, but they were soft under her touch, his curls tangled on her fingers. He licked the outside of her sex, savoring her, his fingers in and out at a steady rhythm, curling inside her, reaching her G-spot with precision.

The loud moans began when he started actually _sucking_ her. He did it with a thirsty expertise that weakened her knees and twisted her spine, finding every sensitive part of her sex, sucking at her clitoris and labia, his mouth covering her as if she was some meaty, juicy season fruit.

It was mind-fucking-blowing.

Ochaco's lips trembled when Deku removed his fingers from inside of her vagina just to replace them with his tongue, exploring her insides like no one ever had. It felt utterly, out-of-worldly amazing how everything he did seemed to be exactly what would raise her horniness, and she pulled at his hair, moving her hips against him to increase the pressure.

He'd pull off occasionally to breathe, and in one of those times, he also began to tease her asshole with a finger, first just caressing the outside, but then slowly inserting the fingertip as he sucked her pussy. She gasped when he broke that barrier, tugging at his hair fiercely and not because it hurt, but just because of the surprise.

"Deku," she said under her breath, her voice hoarse with pleasure.

He hummed, sending vibrations on her sex, and inserted his finger a little deeper in her ass, causing her to arc her back and moan loudly, her fingers losing their grasp on his hair, the combination a little too much.

" _Fuck_ ," she managed to gasp. Her body was out of control already, and the orgasm that was building in her core was the most powerful she ever had. The words came out strangled and high pitched as she shivered and squirmed on the bed. " _Fuck yes_."

Ochaco had touched herself many times, she'd been doing that ever since she had her first menstruation and her mother taught her about the female body. At first, she did it with a mirror between her legs just out of curiosity, to learn about her body and the changes that were happening with her, but then came the day when she _understood_ about boys' bodies too, and discovered what masturbation was. She was quiet about it, like a good girl, only marveling on the tingly, warm sensation in her pussy, how it felt like when she pressed her clitoris with her fingers or closed her legs real tight causing friction against something.

It was only after she joined U.A. that she discovered what female masturbation really was about. Ashido Mina was probably the most forward girl in their class. She was all right proportions, curves and perfect muscles. And she was the only one who'd had sex before going to high school. She had no shame whatsoever to talk about the matter, and would calmly navigate through sex tips in casual conversations be it when the girls were all together, or even when she was with one of the boys she knew wouldn't turn into a ball of shame (which meant that she almost always had that kind of talk with Kaminari and Kirishima, and never ever with Deku or Koda).

Mina had been the one to suggest anal stimulation to Uraraka. Ochaco wasn't stupid, she knew that anal sex was a thing, but she never thought she herself would enjoy it. Wouldn't it feel weird? According to her friend, yes, it would. But if she was relaxed and open to it, it'd be a good weird. So she tried it out when she was alone in her room, and it was… okay. Not traumatic or painful, like some suggested. It couldn't be _that_ bad if gay man loved it so much, right? Whenever she felt like it when she masturbated, Ochaco would stimulate her ass too, and the fact that she didn't slap Bakugo's hand when he did the same a few days prior said a lot about her.

She didn't know how many fingers Katsuki had inserted in her ass, she was in too much a daze to care at the time, but right now, as Deku tired his mouth and tongue on her pussy, she was positive that he had at least two fingers in her ass moving to the rhythm of his tongue. It was amazing how relaxed she was under his touch, loose even, at his mercy, all self-control gone; her whole body trembled and she let out a strangled cry, pushing out everything that had building up inside her.

Apparently, that meant that she had reached what Mina called "another level of arousal", because she squirted all over Deku's mouth. He barely had time to pull back and another squirt hit his chest, so fiercely it came out of her. With her come dripping down his chin and abs, he kept moving his fingers inside her ass until the last drop, and leaned on top of her to kiss her.

Still trembling under him, Uraraka felt intoxicated. She had never felt that way, and the high made her a little dizzy, numb on the tip of her fingers, which should be concerning, since they were the tool of her quirk; with no control, she could send them spinning through the room at any moment, and she wasn't sure she'd have the mental stability to bring them back to normal gravity fast enough.

When she began to feel like herself again, Deku was sucking one of her boobs, cupping the other with his hand and playing with her nipple delicately.

"Deku," she said and he looked up at her, smiled sweetly. He left her breasts for later and kissed her tenderly for a very long time, giving her what she needed to recover from that crazy orgasm she just had had.

"You're so incredible, Ocha," he told her looking in her eyes. "Just to watch you come like that made me come too."

She chuckled and looked down to his crotch, because she was pretty sure she felt his erection still poking at her side.

"Don't fool yourself," Deku said playfully and sat on his heels. "This is round two."

He laid by her side and finally, _finally_ removed his pants and briefs, throwing them to the side carelessly. His penis stood up, pointing at the ceiling; its base had a fine layer of pubic hair in a dark green like his hair, the inevitable end led by his chest hair, and his member was smeared with semen. He didn't lie about coming in his pants, then.

Mustering courage beyond her normal behavior, Ochaco sat up and reached out to him. Her hand went to his ripped abs and down, following the hair from his bellybutton to his low bush. Deku had been doing a better job at shaving than her, she thought with a chuckle, and she more felt than saw him catch his breath when she held the base of his penis firmly, her fingers went around his member testing his girth, smearing with thick come as she moved them up and down tentatively.

He was rock hard, she didn't need to do anything to prepare him for her. Ochaco was anxious about having sex with him, but she toned it down significantly because she wanted to enjoy it. Licking her lips, she got on her knees and passed a leg to the other side of him, lining her hips with his, and guided his penis to her pussy, placing the tip to her entrance.

Deku was looking at her with a mix of expectation and worry, so she smiled at him reassuringly. She wanted to do that, and there was nothing that would make her turn back now. Ochaco began to slide down his member slowly, holding the base of his penis with one hand to steady it; Deku wasn't as long as Bakugo, but he was certainly thicker and she needed to adapt to his size.

"Ocha," he said, his hands on her thighs, caressing her skin tenderly and she tried to smile, but was cut midway by an unexpected gasp.

"Holy shit," she said dropping her head, her hair falling forward partially covering her face, and his hands went to her shoulders worriedly.

"Ocha, am I hurting you?" Deku asked half sitting up and she raised her head to smile at him, this time with more success, though she feared for her facial expression. Ochaco wasn't known for not being intense when she was invested, and hell if she wasn't invested in what she was doing at that very moment.

She slid a few centimeters more of his penis inside her and could feel the control kissing her goodbye again. Maybe, she wondered a bit too late, she was still orgasming, and if that was the case, they would most certainly be floating pretty soon.

Well, fuck that.

"You feel so… fucking… good, Deku," she said through her teeth, her breath catching, and he smirked.

Ochaco put her hands on his chest, holding on to him, and went up a bit, letting him slide out for a few inches before she went down again, swallowing more of his length with her pussy. She was hot, loose and dripping, and to slide him inside was being easier than expected.

"Ochaco," Deku said, his mouth hanging open. It was good to know that he was in a daze just like her. He had sent her to cloud nine and all Uraraka wanted was to do the same for him.

She moved her hips in small circles like an odalisque, adapting to his large penis, and leaned over for a kiss when their hips finally met. She kissed down his jaw and neck as he groaned and moved her hips more, starting to go up and down added to the circles. Deku was incapable of keeping it down, and she was loving that.

His arm went around her waist, burying him deep inside her and she gasped loudly, arched her back and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. She was definitely still orgasming.

 _So good_. He felt so good.

Ochaco bent over again, meeting his lips half way; his hold on her waist was lighter, so she began to move up and down again as they kissed. Their kiss was breathy and shaky, they were sweaty and just _coated in_ _sex_. They were a synchronized being and Ochaco thought briefly as Izuku held her in her arms that perhaps the universe had aligned for a change.

-x-

"Damn," Ochaco said under her breath, tangled in Deku's arms. Her arms were around his torso and he was caressing her hair. It was a warm summer afternoon and they still were sweaty, but they didn't care.

"What?" he asked softly and she smiled looking at his beautiful face.

"I just… can't believe how good you are at this," she let out and then blushed furiously. "I mean, aren't we supposed to be a bunch of virgins?"

Deku chuckled and kissed her nose.

"Not after 3-F's party," he said and she raised her eyebrows surprised that he knew, unsure if she should go on details. "Besides, we practice _a lot_."

Despite herself, Ochaco blushed even more, closing her eyes as if it'd hide her from the embarrassment, and she only opened them when Deku let out a surprised yelp.

"Ocha!" he called out, because they were floating above the bed and going exponentially higher by the second. She yelped too and let go of him to put her fingers together.

"Release!" she said quickly, before they were too high, and they fell back on the bed laughing at how simply silly that was. Uraraka snuggled closer to him again. "So, we're not each other's firsts."

"Afraid not," Deku replied and she hummed, trying to figure out who would be _his_ first and how that happened while avoiding eye contact. "Are you jealous?"

She quickly looked at him again, noticing that he was smirking and she rolled her eyes.

"No," she said firmly and his smile grew. "Do you know who…"

"I don't, though I have my suspicious," he said. "And I think you might know about mine too, but we don't talk about it."

Deku held her closer, caressed her hair tenderly. She had called him Izuku today, when he did something similar; she felt warm and safe in his arms, and part of her didn't want to leave that room.

"It's okay if you're jealous, you know?" Deku told her. "I'm a bit jealous too."

Ochaco smiled then, taken by his words, and touched his chin lovingly. It was something incredible to think that Deku loved her _so much_ he had come all the way from the future to make sure that she would survive and they could be together, but the more she thought about it, the less she understood how it worked.

"Deku, you said you had a plan coming back," she said frowning. "What is it? How did you come back?"

"You always ask so many questions," Deku said playfully shoving her shoulder, and then he kissed her forehead, right between her eyebrows. He breathed in her hair and sighed before he talked again. "There will be this kid in 1-A next year, he can turn back time. I asked him to send me back so I could fix things, and maybe he sent me too far back, but being here now… I can save more than one person, I believe."

"You kind of already did that," Ochaco interrupted him and he raised an eyebrow questionably. "All the times you rescued our class?"

"Yeah, there's that," Deku said nodding. "But also, there's more to come. Things… get fucked up pretty fast, and it's not…" he sighed, lost in thought for a moment, but then he shook his head.

All the while, Ochaco watched him closely. It wasn't like him to do something so risky like going back in time out of selfishness, and if he said he had a plan, well, he probably did – one that counted down to the seconds, even, if she knew him well. And by the number of clocks in that room, Uraraka suspected that it was exactly the case.

"I did something today," he told her. "When I left. Something that I think will help someone find his way back to where he wanted to get to in the first place. I hope it works."

"Him?" she asked and he just nodded soberly, not offering her any further explanation.

"Have you noticed anything off about our colleagues lately?"

Ochaco thought it over quickly and then shrugged.

"Kacchan's been oversharing some sentimental stuff these days, but I don't think that's what you mean." Deku smiled at the mention of Kacchan's name, but hummed as if telling her that no, that wasn't what he meant, so she thought a little harder. "I don't think so, no."

"See, that's the problem," he said seriously. "None of us noticed. And it got out of hand."

"Maybe, if you tell me," Ochaco suggested. "I could help. Who is it that needs a hand?"

Deku shook his head and rubbed his face frustrated before he decided to give her a piece of information.

"Mineta," he said reluctantly. "He… I don't know, is in a dark place, I guess."

"Like you were? When I died?" she suggested and Deku sighed.

"Ocha, you're not going to die, I'll make sure of it. Here," he guaranteed, and suddenly turned to get something on the nightstand. He came back with the digital wristwatch she had saw the first time she went there. "This is my ticket back. When I save you, when this is sorted out and I make sure you'll be fine and living, I'll use this to go back and you'll be waiting for me, and we'll graduate together."

"A watch?" she asked unimpressed, reaching out to touch it. It looked so… normal. Deku nodded.

"Kaneda, the kid that sent me back, does these things to guarantee you'll go back to your time, to when you came from. It's like a totem. When I activate it, I'll be sent to when I was. Ocha," Deku held her face tenderly, making her look at him. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

-x-

She took the phone with her when she went to clean up before leaving, because there was one thing she wanted to see. Among those camp photos, one had caught her eye, and she didn't think much of it at first glance, but now that Deku had mentioned…

Uraraka opened Instaphoto again and went straight to the search engine, looked for the user _gurepujusu_ and came up empty, which was strange. Mineta loved that account of his, why would he delete it? Deciding to move on, she checked her profile and opened said photo that had caught her attention. It was a photo of her and Mineta laughing about something, Deku was holding a furious Kacchan in the background. She had written something too.

 _Can you believe this was less than a month ago? Minoru, we had no idea of what you were going through, you never let us know. Now, in hindsight, we should've noticed. You were one of the most open-hearted people of our class, and yet we failed to listen to you. I'd do things differently if I had the chance, and I know more of us would too. I'm so, so sorry. We miss you._

The best days of their lives, Deku had said, were yet to come and would end too soon.

-x-

There was a photo in Deku's Instaphoto profile too, the last one he had posted. It was her in what looked like his room at the dorms; she was wearing one of his All Might tees and smiling at the camera as she brushed her hair. Ochaco tapped to open.

 _I love you. I miss you. See you soon._

-x-

"Hello, guys!" Ochaco greeted excitedly when she got back to the dorm that afternoon and found her friends by the table, each doing something different.

"Someone woke on the right side of the bed today," Mina commented, smiling at her as she painted her nails, and Ochaco blushed.

"Yeah, she looks almost as happy as that one, kero," Tsuyu said, pointing to the I room.

Ochaco looked over and gasped at what she saw. Momo and Todoroki were side by side, looking at each other and talking quietly; Momo leaned over and kissed his left cheek, right under his eye, and from where they were watching, it looked like he might melt.

"I know, right?" Kyoka said looking up from the magazine she was reading. "About time."

"Oh, they look so cute together!" Ochaco said with her hands on her cheeks, eyes shining.

"Yeah, it's borderline offensive," Mina joked. "But where were you, Ocha? We barely saw you for like, four days!"

Uraraka dropped her hands and opened her mouth to answer with something, _anything_ that would come to her mind, but she made the mistake of looking over at the kitchen area and saw Katsuki there. He smirked at her, making her go fifty shades of red, and to make everything worst, Deku came from the court wearing an U.A. tank top and drying his hair with a towel.

It was not wise to come across Deku _now_ , with her knowing exactly how his _whole_ body was. She literally salivated looking at him, and then her face got even redder. Luckily, no one was paying attention to her anymore.

"Kyoka," Deku said getting closer to the table where all the girls were. "How much was the pill?"

"What?" Kyoka asked absently, for she was back to her magazine, but then she dropped it on the table suddenly, her eyes wide. "FUCK! What time is it?"

She grabbed Deku's arm to look at his watch, and then stood up almost dropping the chair so fast she moved.

" _Fuck_ , I forgot! And I'm almost out of time!" Kyoka said stressed out.

"You _forgot_?" Deku exclaimed and she turned to him with a determined face.

"Well, don't just stand there!" she exclaimed. "You can run really fast without breaking your legs, right?" Deku nodded. "Then take me to the pharmacy. Now!"

"O-Okay!" Deku said right away, dropping the towel on the back of a chair and picking Kyoka up bridal style. With a blink, they were gone, and Ochaco… thought she _understood_.

"Kyoka?" Toru said confused. "I didn't know they were that close."

Mina scoffed. Tsuyu croaked.

"Yeah, who wouldn't like to get close to him like she did, he's looking _fine_ ," Mina joked and Tsuyu pushed her shoulder, subtly pointed at Ochaco, who was just half listening to them.

Uraraka's eyes were staring the kitchen again, where Kacchan, Kaminari and Kirishima were making sandwiches, except that Kacchan was looking at her and he wasn't smiling anymore. He understood too.

"Get a hold of yourself, woman," Toru said playfully, bumping her hips on Ochaco's and pulling her from her thoughts. "Do you think Momo will still be up for that bikini wax tomorrow?"

"Yes," all the other girls, including Uraraka, said at the same time and looked over at Momo and Todoroki again. They looked… happy. It was good to see that.

-x-

After the final touches were put in Uraraka's backpack, and she had to smile innocently at the epilator, who had looked at the bite marks on the inside of her thighs judgmentally, everyone got in the buses and hoped to God that they'd have an uneventful summer camp this time.

That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Surely not.

"PDA RULES, REP!" Mina shouted out the window of the bus standing up on her seat, making some of them laugh behind their hands. Outside, while they waited for everything to be in place for their departure, Hatsume Mei waved them off as she kissed Iida, and they laughed even more.

"Don't be mean, Mina," Ochaco said tugging at her friend's shirt playfully and Ashido sat down again, turned back to look at Uraraka. "The support classes don't get to go on those training trips, you can't blame them for trying to make up to the time they'll lose."

The friends laughed more and looked out of the window at the kissy couple – though they weren't kissing anymore. Instead, Mei had shoved an open small handbag in Iida's hand and was quickly telling him about the things inside it. Ochaco would bet her short money that it was things to help Iida in maintain his gear going during training. With Mei on his case for the past months, their Rep's engine, and consequently his quirk, had been one of the greatest improvements of 2-A. Funny how their story went for longer than they'd been actually together.

"Can't deny they're cute together," Toru commented and they all nodded.

"But it's funny to see Iida all relaxed and… _loving_ , kero," observed Tsuyu, and they had to agree.

"I wouldn't say he's rela-" Ochaco started to say, but they all jumped with the loud noise outside.

"LOVE BIRDS!" Mic shouted from 2-B's bus, where everyone was already set to leave, right when Iida leaned in for another kiss, and the couple jumped two feet apart startled. "ENOUGH! LET'S GO!"

"Don't be mean, Mic!" Midnight said from their bus. Being their homeroom teacher for their second year, she was the one going with them this time. "But he's right, it's time to go. Sorry, Ms. Hatsume."

"It's fine, Ms. Midnight," Mei said with a respectful bow. "Be careful, Tenya."

He assured he'd be fine and hopped up in the bus, taking a seat next to Midoriya, his cheeks way too blushed for someone who already displayed that much PDA. Of course, the boys didn't let him be, teasing him for most of their way to the camp. Their playful banter eased the mood in the bus, but that youthful hope didn't stop them from keeping an eye for anything weird happening on the road as they descended to the coast. The bus descended through sharp curves to one of the country's most exotic and remote settings.

"Is that a cabin?" Uraraka asked pointing at what looked like a shed in the distance, up in a cliff. She could be imagining, it, because the pointy roof and wooden walls were camouflaged between the trees, but she could swear she was seeing sun plaques and a chime.

"Looks like," Tsuyu replied. The bus made turn further from the cliff where the supposed cabin was.

"I wonder if it'll be hard to get there," Ochaco said dreamingly.

"I don't think we'll be too close, kero."

"Yeah, and why would you want to go there anyway," Toru asked turning to Ochaco. "What if it's a haunted house?"

Uraraka giggled at the idea. So many things they could be afraid of – villains popping up out of every corner, for example – and Toru was afraid of ghosts?

"Maybe it is," Kyoka said, suddenly appearing behind Toru and startling the girl, making her glow with the scare; the girls laughed even more. "Maybe they're sending us to train against the supernatural treat of this brave new world we live in, and our next task is to exorcise some demonic child."

Jiro sat on Tsuyu's lap, leaned closer to Toru, who was leaning away from her colleague. Mina and Ochaco hid their laugh behind their hands.

"Just imagine, Toru," Jiro continued. "All those old movies and TV shows about people being possessed, throwing up some hell goo on priests and bibles and stuff. There's no such a thing as the Christian religion that tamed those beasts back them now. The ancient demons, they have nothing to be afraid of, so how could we possibly defeat them and send them back to hell? That's got to be a real hero accomplishment, don't you think? What would you do, Toru? If you have to face a freak that knows your every thought and talks in a language so ancient you can't even begin to understand? Something that creeps under the bed and reaches for your ankles and-"

Suddenly, Kyoka reached for Toru, making the other girl scream, and Jiro began to laugh amused.

"You're such a scaredy cat!"

"Jiro can be really scary," Ochaco mumbled to Asui, who nodded solemnly and croaked.

Looking around, she saw that other colleagues were staring wide eyed at Kyoka, proving that Toru wasn't the only scaredy cat of their class. From the front of the bus, Ms. Midnight laughing at them.

"Damn, get the fuck off!" Bakugo complained catching their attention; he untangled from Kirishima's grasp on his arm and pushed the other boy away, making him fall in the bus' corridor. "Fucking pussy."

-x-

Their training for second year was military-like. They would spend the next couple of weeks getting up before dawn and feasting on rations while they paired with the police academy to learn their way of facing villains and even petty criminals. For their second year of high school, they were learning to balance physical training combined with their quirks, something Ochaco already had been working on since their first Sports Festival, but some of her colleagues still struggled with it.

It didn't matter that they were in one of the most paradisiac beaches of Japan; by the time they had a free day (the first I of the trip, hard five days after their arrival), everyone was sore and sunburned, but that didn't stop them from wanting to actually explore the site and spend some time on the beach.

The first ones to arrive, almost at the crack of dawn, were Bakugo and Kirishima. They arrived at the healthy sunlight and Kirishima talked of some poem about the sun rising up for them, to which Bakugo rolled his eyes and splashed sunscreen on the redhead's chest.

"Shut up already," he complained, putting some sunscreen on his own hand. "And put some sunscreen on."

"Why would that matter?" Kirishima asked, though he started spreading the cream anyway.

"Because it protects you from the fucking sun, do you think you're tougher than the _sun_?"

Kirishima looked over at the ocean, the sky already a fine shade of baby blue, and tilted his head amused, a smirk on his face.

"Aww, you care about me!" He said, poking Bakugo playfully and getting an annoyed shrug in return. "That's so cute!"

"Fuck off," Bakugo replied stepping away, his hand still full of sunscreen.

"Katsuki," Eijiro called. He stepped closer and put a hand on Bakugo's cheek, turning him in his direction, and then he kissed him ever so tenderly.

Except that nothing was ever just _tenderly_ when Bakugo was involved, and soon they were pretty much French kissing. It went on for a minute or two until they finally stopped, and then Katsuki shoved his hand on Eijiro's face, splaying him with sunscreen.

"That's for being a pussy ass bitch and calling me cute. You're lucky to be alive, you know?"

Kirishima laughed delighted as he spread the cream, making sure to keep it away from his eyes, and then flashed a smile at Bakugo.

"You like me too much to actually try to kill me."

Katsuki didn't try to prove him wrong. They helped put sunscreen on each other's back and bathed under the morning sun for quite some time until their friends from class A and colleagues from class B arrived in trios and couples, gradually filling the beach with people and noise.

"What is it?" Bakugo asked Ochaco when they teamed up for some fut-volley. Their team was composed of him, Ocha, Mina and Kiri, while the other team had Deku, Iida, Momo and Tsuyu. Perhaps, it was a little unfair to put all the competitive people together in one team only, but no one really cared. They were going to _crush_ them.

That, of course, if Uraraka could concentrate.

"Uh?" she blinked at him confused and then shook her head. "Nothing! I just thought I saw smoke coming from that cliff, but it might just be from the cabin I saw there."

"Hell, Ocha, you're really obsessed with that cabin," Katsuki whined, because he'd been hearing her talk about it since day one. "Did you go there already?"

She shook her head no.

"I'll see if I can go today," Ochaco said. "I'm so curious to see it. Do you think there's like, an old couple of nice people who, I don't know, fought a war or something, living there?"

"The fuck would _I_ care?" he replied, making her sigh in defeat. "I'm just telling you to go so you can shut up about it!"

He walked away and pushed Ashido out of the way from where she was trying to tie the volleyball net on a pole they set on the sand, and Uraraka shook her head. That damn boy.

"That's interesting," Deku said behind her, startling Ochaco. She jumped in place and then turned in his direction, hands to her cheeks. "Kacchan is calling you by your name now. He must really respect you."

Uraraka's eyes widened as her cheeks took in a deeper shade of red than usual for a series of reasons. For one, yes, it was quite the accomplishment Bakugo calling someone by their actual name. For example, besides Ochaco, Kirishima, Mina and Kaminari were the only ones to accomplish such thing. But secondly, she was the only one well aware that she only got him to call her by her name because…

She inevitably began to stutter as she remembered how it was less than a couple of weeks ago that she slept with Katsuki, the way he had to cover her mouth to muffle her moans. And then, Ochaco was hyper aware of how close Deku was standing, and how he was shirtless, his skin tanned and starting to glow with sweat and…

 _Oh, shit_ , Uraraka thought to herself, lightly slapping her cheeks to try and chase away the even fresher memory of laying on her belly with Midoriya pressed to her back, kissing down her neck, moving his hips against hers as she moaned his name...

In front of her, Deku grew more and more confused by her flustered reaction. He frowned, and she looked down at his torso, realizing that some of the scars she had seen in his future self still didn't exist, but because she was pretty much staring, he began to blush too.

"Uh- I didn't meant to, I mean-" Deku flustered too, stepping back to give her more space and only then Ochaco could breathe a little better. It was so embarrassing… balancing that Deku with the Deku from the future was proving to be trickier than expected. "It's just that we've been friends from day one, and sure we have nicknames, but, I mean…"

Midoriya's awkwardness distracted Ochaco from her own, and she couldn't help but smile as his demeanor, the way he waved his hands trying to explain himself, and how he was sweating nervously, seemingly stripped from the courage that brought him to her in the first place.

"Do you need rescue from this loser?" Katsuki asked, suddenly by her side, and she shook her head, trying not to laugh.

"Kacchan, don't be like that!" Ochaco exclaimed putting a hand on his chest and other on his arm to push him away. He went without protest.

"Don't say I never did anything for you, Round Face," he replied, but she knew he was joking. With wide eyes, Midoriya followed their movements, certainly trying to make sense of their interactions.

Sighing, Ochaco tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned to Deku again, smiling at him.

"You were saying, Deku?" she said and he swallowed, focusing on her only, and smiled too.

Midoriya took a deep breath, choosing to let it out in one go.

"We've had our reasons to dance around each other for over a year already," he said, his voice surprisingly soft. "But I think… it's about time. I'd like to hear you call me Izuku, and I'd like to call you Ochaco, too."

Uraraka's smile grew and she felt her heart swell in her chest. Deku was blushing furiously now, but he held a resolve in his posture that was so cute. He really was something, wasn't he? She dropped her hands and stepped closer to him.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said as softly as he had spoken and he sighed relieved. "Izuku."

"Fraternizing with the enemy, Izuku, get away from her," Iida said, popping between the two of them, his robot arms making an appearance before he started dragging their friend to the other side of the net and Ochaco couldn't help but guffaw. "We got to concentrate and win!"

"Good luck with that, Rep!" Mina exclaimed and winked at Ochaco, a volley ball in her hands.

"You guys are _so_ dead," Ochaco said with an evil grin; by her side, getting in position, Kacchan growled in approval, Kiri cracked his knuckles and even though the sun was reflecting on the other team, she could see Momo swallow.

-x-

Only after lunch Ochaco had a chance to go somewhere else without supervision. She slipped out of the cafeteria to her dorm without anyone noticing, put on a pair of shorts under her dress, some sneakers, left a note for Tsu and left through the forest trail up the hill, trying to always have her eyes on the ocean in order not to lose her way.

Her body was still a little heavy after lunch, seeing that it was the first time they had actual food – even though it was only ramen. It was a relief to taste something different from the military rations, and after eating a bit too much, it took Uraraka about an hour to finally reach the top of the cliff and face the shed.

It looked… normal. Not haunted like Kyo tried to convince Toru it was, nor old and falling to pieces. As a matter of fact, the cabin looked rather charming. She stepped closer to the porch, minding her step as she climbed up the stairs. There was a "Welcome" carpet on the door, and when she tried the knob, it gave out easily, no screak on the handles.

Ochaco gasped when she opened the door, stepping into a large living room with old school memorabilia, no I, but with an old phone and a fireplace fueled by gas in the corner. It was a charming little house, and going further inside she could see the kitchen to the back and another door by her left. A bedroom, she realized when she pushed the door open, with a bathtub by the window and everything.

She was startled by a noise coming from the front door, and took a defensive stance before realizing who was coming in, though she still needed a few seconds to put everything in its place in her mind.

"Did you know that this place is kept neat to receive lost wanderers or people stranded by storms in need of a place to stay?" he said, seemingly unsurprised by her presence there. "It's the last resource before landing on military ground and risking getting shot."

"Deku," Ochaco said standing straighter and he smirked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a student, I have a permit."

That made sense, though it didn't explain why he'd have to come in the first place. Part of Ochaco would always get a bit on the edge when future Deku was around, because he'd been saving their asses, and it could only mean that they would run into trouble anytime soon. But instead, this time, Deku only chuckled as he got closer to her.

"Don't worry, you can enjoy the summer camp with no events this time," he guaranteed, and Uraraka breathed out in relief. "You don't need to worry about anything."

"Okay," she said with a breathy smile, and tucked her hair behind her years. Suddenly, she got the urge to tell him something. "You told me to call you Izuku today."

"I know," Deku said reaching out to touch the tip of her hair as it escaped from behind her ear. "Everything that happens to him already happened to me."

Ochaco blushed.

"Right. Of course," she reasoned looking down. Deku was wearing casual clothes for a change, shorts and flipflops, an All Might sleeveless shirt, and it was kind of crazy to think that he just came to _relax_.

Uraraka frowned, actually giving it a thought for a change. If she knew Deku well – and she liked to say that she did know him very well – there was no such a thing as relaxing. Perhaps, he just went to a quiet place to gather all his information and come up with a plan to save her.

After all, that's what he said he came to do, right? Save her?

Deku brushed his fingers on her cheeks and down her jaw delicately, and before she realized he was _really_ close. So close her breath hit on his chest and came back hot on her face, and Ochaco had to look up to meet his eyes, except that her eyes were lined with his mouth and Deku had such inviting lips…

Maybe it was all in her mind, but Uraraka was pretty sure she melted a little, and because they were so close together, Deku easily caught her, the hand he had on her face went to the back of her neck, tilting her head up to kiss her, and his other arm went around her waist, sustaining her.

He was so strong, his arms so firm, and as Ochaco held on to the front of his shirt, she also parted her lips, letting the tip of her tongue play with his bottom lip before he opened his mouth too, his tongue meeting hers halfway.

She stumbled backwards into the bedroom. It smelled of bath salts and fresh sheets; the curtains were open, letting the sun bath the room in pretty angles and they fell on the bed in a tangle of limbs, pulling at each other's clothes, all the memories of pleasure Ochaco had had to push down the whole week about Deku resurfacing now that she was with the guy that bedded her. It had been really hard to keep those lusty thoughts hidden, but now that future Deku was here… she could let them loose. Right?

They kissed in a frantic thirst, tongues wrestling and all as they tried to get the other naked. Ochaco managed to take off Deku's shirt and rub his raising erection over the fabric of his shorts, and Deku pulled her shorts down, the bottom of her bikini tangled on her knees. She didn't even bother taking off her shoes initially, and they only broke the kiss so he could roll her over on her belly.

Uraraka got on her knees, her face to the bed, and she reached out to her cunt, pressed at her clitoris, feeling the humidity of her sex drench the tip of her fingers before Deku pulled her closer, making her ass go up higher; he groped her ass, opening her cheeks and leaned over, licked her pussy; Ochaco moaned on the sheets, certain that she would never find anyone who could eat her out as well as he could.

He didn't spend a lot of time in the oral this time, however, didn't even finger her; he helped her out of her shoes, totally removed her shorts and bikini bottom this time before taking off his shorts.

Despite dripping on those nice sheets, Uraraka sat up and watched him strip, one hand back to her clit while the other pinched at her nipple. She felt kind of dirty, but in a good way. Lusty, like she had nicknamed her thoughts before. Of course she never thought she'd let her mind wander so much to sex like it had been these past weeks, but she was also sure the urge would slow down once she'd be rid of all that sexual tension she and Deku had been building for the past year and a half.

Deku wasn't fully erect yet, but he leaned over and kissed her, this time in a much slower tempo, and Ochaco decided to jerk him off before he penetrated her. So far in her life, she had only seen a couple of penises live and in color, and Deku's member wasn't _that_ long, but it was really thick and nice, so thick her fingers almost didn't meet when she closed her hand around its base. It thinned a bit as it got to the tip, but not much. If she wasn't so aroused when they had sex, it would certainly be painful to fit him inside of her.

He slid his hands on the sides of her hips and up, lifting her summer dress and exposing her top. Ochaco was wearing pink bikini tops and Deku pushed aside the fabric, partially freeing her perky boobs. Uraraka let go of his member and took off the dress, throwing it away somewhere and slid back to lay against the pillows, lying down and giving him full access to take the lead.

On his knees following her on the bed, Deku leaned over by her side and kissed down her neck and collarbone, one of his hands playing with her breast, caressing her skin with a comforting gentleness and making her moan under his touch. His mouth reached a nipple and began to suck at it, and Uraraka's hands went to his hair and shoulder, digging nails and pulling hair as he pleasured her, his tongue wetting her skin.

It was a sloppy work, and a good one as well, and she found herself pressing her thighs together in order to keep the nice pressure going on her sex. When Deku realized what she was doing, he let go of her breast and reached between her legs, forcing her to open them.

"You're so wet," he said under his breath, face lined to hers as he inserted one finger inside of her.

"Izuku," Ochaco said under her breath. She was sweating, and so was he, his hair glued to his forehead. She cupped his cheeks, brought his face closer to hers, and when she spoke up, her voice was firm with decision. "Make love to me."

Reaching up, Uraraka met his lips, kissing him in a much tender way than she had before, and Deku reciprocated it with the same delicacy. He pressed on top of her, gradually getting in position between her legs, and she dug her nails on the small of his back in anticipation. He had no trouble at all in finding her entrance without looking, and only found mild resistance going in. Ochaco's legs trembled and she gasped at that first penetration, so he gave her a moment to adapt before he started moving, an arm on the pillow around her head while the other helped keep him up on the bed, keeping him from suffocating her.

As the shiver subsided, Uraraka started placing small kisses on Deku's mouth and jaw, and whisper things in his ear, guaranteeing him she was fine and ready, so he started moving in and out of her ever so slowly, ever so gently, letting her determine the tempo of their love making.

Outside, far down, the rustle of the leaves swaying to the breeze muffled the voices and laughter coming from the beach full of students, and hid away the reason Deku had gone to that camp in the first place.

-x-

"Wait for me, Ocha," Izuku said under his breath, his face close to hers as they laid on their sides, one of his hands caressing her hair. "I'm going to do this, and when I go back, _please_ , be there waiting for me."

Ochaco looked right into his eyes, buried in their green, and her fingers touched his bottom lip. Summer always kissed Deku's skin in a special way, and he had so many freckles, it was… beautiful.

"Yes, of course," she said softly, her thumb on his chin tracing the line of his jaw. "Izuku, I would wait for you 'til the end of time."

She didn't tell him she loved him, even though it was true. She'd had a taste of him and Deku was as amazing as Ochaco had ever fantasized; she loved him, alright, but she also loved the version of him stuck in the present, and until _that_ version didn't love her like _this_ , she still had a long way to go.

Deku was well aware, she supposed. He didn't press her into saying anything else, and she guessed it was because he was from the future. One way or another, he knew that things would work just fine, that they would be together. And most of all, he believed her.

One year or so from now, Ochaco would wait for him a thousand times, every day if necessary. Day after day. Until the end of time, if it'd take that long.

"Just make sure you'll _come back_." She poked his chest and he chuckled, planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Yes, ma'am."

-x-

Ochaco had to go. She had to go because now that she'd been through a marathon of _exercises_ , she was a little sore and it'd take her another hour to get down to the camp again. She had to go because time was running out and she was training to be a motherfucking _hero_ , she had to focus on school. She also had to go because Deku urged her to.

"Don't want you to get in trouble," he told her, even though the way he was checking his wristwatch – _that_ wristwatch from the future with the ticket back to his time, but she pretended not to notice – was a little suspicious.

Of course he was right about her getting in trouble, and she agreed even before he outed the words, so she dressed up, put on her sneakers again, stole some water and a banana from the kitchen and started her way back to camp, staying on the trail and always with an eye to the ocean.

It really was a beautiful place to be, that site U.A. had chosen, and so romantic as well. Even the air smelled a little sweeter with all those couples finding each other… Momo and Todoroki were the poster couple of the whole school. Ochaco wasn't sure they'd last, but they sure looked good together, happy even. Kacchan and Kiri, she never thought they'd assume it, but she was glad they did. She also didn't regret calling them "cute" to Katsuki's face, it was totally worth it.

The ground trembled, sending her off her feet right in the middle of her chuckle, and the only reason Ochaco didn't fall head first was because she was extra quick to activate her quirk. U.A.'s training really was something, but she didn't have enough time to wonder about it, because every tree around her was shaking, birds flew away loud and distressed.

"Earthquake?" she wondered out loud, planting her feet on the ground again. A quick glance to the ocean told her that it wasn't an Earthquake at all, the sea was as calm as it could be, even though everything in that hill was vibrating. "Weird."

Since she had stopped, she decided to take a sip of water. That one moment of quiet and listening to the layers of the animals' cries was enough to slip into her hearing the muffled sound of something exploding.

"Deku," she gasped dropping the bottle and the banana and starting to run in the direction she had come from. She has only twenty minutes away, and if he was in trouble, she'd have to use all she got to get to him in time.

(of course there was another option too. It was a forest, and the noise could've come from _anywhere_ , really, but Ochaco didn't think strongly of that option. They were U.A.'s class A, and trouble always followed them, no matter what)

She activated her quirk again, in order to let go of any extra weight and run faster, and even though Uraraka made the run in almost half of the time, it still felt like she was going too slow. The higher she climbed, the more she could feel the ground shake, and that could only mean that Deku was using his quirk.

The moment she stepped out of the line of trees, an explosion went out the back of the cabin, shattering glass everywhere. Ochaco covered her face with her arms, even though she was far from where the glass exploded, and when she peeked at the cabin, she saw that the front door was torn open.

Had she been there only half an hour ago? It looked like a completely different place already, more like the eerie place Jiro had tried to convince them it was, and from inside came the sounds of battle.

Deku moved like a blur, and she could barely make out what's going on in there, but Uraraka was pretty sure she saw knives being thrown with incredible speed and efficiency. She stepped forward, determined to help, her eyes to the open door, and barely three steps in she saw Deku stop and throw a punch at the floor of the cabin, generating a strong gush of air that got her on her ass, her back hit the trunk of the nearest tree with an uncomfortable poke to her shoulderblades.

With a blurred vision because of the tears that suddenly pooled on her eyes, Ochaco saw Deku look out of the cabin, and she could _swear_ he had seen her, because his posture changed all together. She blinked desperately and tried to get on her feet, but he reached out to her in a desperate attempt to stop her, his hands dripping blod; someone else stood on the door, blocking the view and Uraraka had to blink again to focus on the new person.

Slender legs covered in blood and bruises were barely hidden by the skirt and too long sweater Himiko Toga was wearing, and she flipped a knife on her right hand, catching it effortlessly and smiling maniacally at Uraraka.

"Ochaco, my dear friend!" she exclaimed with that disgusting excitement she always carried in her voice and Uraraka quickly got to her feet, ready to launch at the villain-wannabe. Himiko didn't seem to understand her intention or even care.

"How the fuck are you alive?" Ochaco asked, her mind already forming a last minute plan. Himiko giggled. "How did you get here?"

"You think I'm easy to kill?" she said simply, the smile never leaving her face. "And I followed _him_ ," she pointed back at Deku. "Did you know that there are two Izukus? What, of course you did. I'm so jealous, Ocha."

"You don't get," Uraraka said stepping in the other girl's direction. "To call me Ochaco, you bitch!"

"Ochaco, no!" Deku called from inside the cabin.

Everything happened in a split second, yet Uraraka saw it all.

Himiko threw one of her knives at her. Izuku ran in front of it and instead of using his super speed to get it out of the way, he stood between the two girls, facing Ochaco. He had cuts and blood all over, just like Himiko did, and Ochaco wondered how much damage could be done is such short time.

The knife hit his back and he fell to his knees, still facing her. She could see the lines of his quirk powering up on his skin, and her brain only partially processed the fact that his watch wasn't on his wrist anymore; instead, his hand was dripping blood from a deep cut.

"Your watch," Uraraka mumbled worriedly.

Deku shook his head lightly and reached with the bloodied hand to his back, yanking the knife out before he started to get up, one knee to the ground, fist ready for a punch.

"It's gonna be alright," he mouthed to her. Or maybe he said it out loud, but she couldn't affirm it for sure.

Ochaco stepped in his direction.

Deku's closed fist went down and hit the ground with a smash, knocking her off her feet again, and the biggest tremor of them all shook their bones. She blinked and he wasn't there anymore, but moving back to the cabin and taking Himiko with him, a trail of blood on his way. The ground started to crack and Ochaco stumbled back to the line of trees out of instinct.

Time stood still as the cliff started to give away. There was a loud sound of something breaking, a cry from earth itself, it seemed like, and the tears were streaming down her cheeks before Uraraka even realized she was crying. Her throat felt raw, but she didn't remember screaming. She desperately wanted to help, but she had no control over the fight between Deku and Himiko. Maybe, if she could sustain the cabin in the air…

Before she could move forward, the cliff gave out completely and it started to fall down to the ocean, cabin, trees and all. She called Deku's name, maybe, and hoped, hoped, hoped that he'd find the watch in time to go back to his time and be treated by Recovery Girl or _something_ , because there was no way in hell that Deku would come all the way here just to _die_ by Himiko Toga's hands-

Her thoughts were interrupted by an explosion, and debris from the cabin flew everywhere around her, smoldering pieces of wood being caught by treetops.

She should do something about the fire, but all she could do was crawl to the edge of the cliff and look down, holding on to faith that Deku had been saved by some tree root, or waiting to see him bust up in light speed, like he could do, but all she saw was rocks and fire tumbling down the ocean, a big chunk of the house still in one piece as it got swallowed by the sea, and a big wave was growing towards the shore.

Ochaco didn't know how much time she stood there, clinging to the uneven edge of the cliff, her belly to the ground as she looked down. What else she could do besides hope that things would really be alright? Because she had no clue whatsoever if that had been part of the plan at all.

Was Himiko the reason Ochaco would die? That must've been, or else why would Deku engage into such a brutal fight with her?

That was it, then. He must've gone home by now. She was sure that he was home by now and that she was by his side. Whatever it was, whenever it was, they were together.

-x-

So this is what happened.

Her friends knew that Ochaco had gone to the cabin to see how it was, so the moment they heard the cliff going down, Midoriya and Bakugo took their shortcuts to get to the cliff in record time, while Iida helped usher everyone from the beach just in case the debris caused a tsunami.

Deku was the first to arrive, and to find her laying down, looking at the cabin burn; she needed a moment to understand that he was her Deku, the one from the present, and not the Deku she was hoping to God was safe and sound back in his time, and the look of confusion on her face must've unsettled him, because he approached her carefully.

He made sure she was okay and she made up some fake ass lie about finding the cabin, looking around and getting some water and food for the trip back ( _where was her food and water exactly?_ ). The part about going back after hearing the noise was real, but she kept out the fight between his future self and a Himiko Toga who clearly knew too much, opting instead to mention the fireplace and its gas fuel that was the probable cause of the explosion, but she couldn't put a finger on how the cliff… became… that.

And then Bakugo was there, and Tokoyami with Dark Shadow, and even Tsuyu coming with the military, who asked her the same questions and helped take her back to the camp, even though she was perfectly capable of walking. Toru helped her patch her cuts – that were only scratched knees and elbows – and Momo prepared some stronger painkiller to help her sleep, because in the middle of it all, Ochaco started to copiously cry and no one seemed to be able to make her stop.

Deku from the future was wrong, this wasn't an uneventful camp. It was the completely opposite of uneventful, and it was even worse, because she was the only one aware of all that had truly gone down.

The teachers and the military got as much evidence of the cabin to try and find out what had happened, and word went out that they had found one corpse, but couldn't identify the person, because of the fire. There was no detail leaked to the press or the students, not even the sex of the dead person, and the fact that it was just one corpse gave hope to Ochaco that Deku had made it to the future, but even so…

It was _fucking traumatizing_. She had been with him that same afternoon, and now…

Uraraka was expected to rest on Monday, but opted to go back to the routine with her fellow heroes-in-training. She put on her uniform and running shoes, ate the boring oatmeal and moved on with her life. She wasn't supposed to get stuck up with this whole cabin drama anyway, and her priorities were clear. If she truly wanted to achieve all the things she wanted to achieve – Hawaii, the overseas internship, Endeavour and her third place at the Sports Festival – she had to work hard, no distractions.

Five days later, they were heading home. And by home, it meant that they'd actually have the time to see their families and childhood friends and everything. Everyone was excited to go back, and so hyped with all the things they'd done during the camp. To everyone's surprise, Mineta had gotten the highest score of their mini-gymkhana and they kept telling him how awesome he had been, how much progress he was making – perhaps the biggest progress of the whole class.

It was definitely a different vibe in that bus, and the joy that surrounded them was comforting.

"I'm really curious to know what got into you, Mineta, kero," Tsu was saying over Ochaco.

"Now, that's the most valuable secret, Asui, my dear. And a hero never reveals his secrets!" Mineta said with a hand to his chest and Kaminari frowned at him.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"I did," Mineta said without losing a beat, and they all laughed.

"Ms. Midnight!" Mina called from the back of the bus. "Can we use our phones now?"

"Yes, Ashido, go for it," Midnight replied with a careless hand movement, and everyone celebrated.

Ochaco got her backpack, that was between her legs, and got up after whispering to Tsu that she'd be back later and only getting a croak in response, for the girl was checking to see if she'd gotten any messages during the time they were out.

"Time for gurepujusu to tell everything about his success," Mineta said, furiously typing on his phone.

"Please, don't talk about yourself in the third person," Kyo begged. "It's ridiculous."

Heading to the front of the bus, Ochaco just giggled against her cupped hand, amused by her friends' good mood, and she found a seat right in front of Deku and Iida, so she dropped her bag on the floor and sat down against the window, to be able to talk to the guys.

"Hey," she greeted them both, even though her eyes lingered on Izuku for a beat too long. Tenya fixed his glasses on his nose, and waved at her.

"Are you feeling better, Ochaco?" Deku asked and she nodded, showed him the scabs on her elbow just for emphasis.

"A lot better, actually, thanks for asking."

-x-

" _Where do they come from? The wires that connect to us, weightless and fall on your body 'till we're invisible.  
I'm with you throughout it, choose. Busted and blue._"  
 _Busted and Blue_ \- Gorillaz

He watched her squirm and moan in pain for days and days, tended to her burns carefully like he did for no one else ever in his life. Silly girl, in love with everyone. If he could even call her sick feelings _love_.

(actually, what did he know about love?)

(no, that wasn't a well he wanted to get water from. Too fucking dangerous)

But she was one of the last things (people?) he had left, after the disastrous year they had, and all the losses that came over them.

Villains. They were an ever expanding clique, but their resilience wasn't one of the best.

If he could just discipline the girl, he believed they would be able to create a better generation of villains.

If she survives. It was luck that she sent him her location just in time, the fire was all over already when he arrived at the falling house. Hell, his living room carpet would never be the same again after all the salty water that fell on it.

" _Pain_ ," she said in a desperate cry, practically her whole body covered in unguents to help her heal. " _It hurts_."

Kurogiri swallowed and reached out to check the level of morphine with a bandaged hand. He had burned too, but not as badly as she. After seeing that she was on the limit for the next hour or so, and despite his better judgment, he reached out and pushed back her blonde hair wet with sweat.

"Please," she pleaded through gritted teeth. "It hurts."

"I know, Toga," he told her. "But it'll get better, and we'll get revenge. I promise."

* * *

 **a/n** : thanks for reading! reviews are appreciated ^^


	2. Uravity

**Author's note:** I woke up this morning thinking about how I finally, after 7 months, finished writing and revising the chapter of this fic and would be able to post it to you guys. I was stoked to finally do it, I really was. But it's been a bad day, and my internet doesn't work. I've rewritten this author note five times already, and the internet froze, or broke down every single time to the point I now wonder what the fuck I'm doing with my life.

It is a bad day, but different from the characters in this chapter, I hope it doesn't end on a bad note. There's no happy ending in this fic, as you've been warned before, and I didn't change my mind halfway through. You'll get to the end, if you don't give up on it, and it's going to be sad and bitter.  
The story will move on in other fics (much shorter, may I add) that will hopefully lighten the mood up some, but don't expect to feel happy after these +41k words. This is angst with a sad ending. A tragedy.  
Like my internet.

I hope you like it anyway. Thanks for reading.

 **WARNINGS:** underage, explicit sexual content, depression, suicide, blood, violence, major characters death.

* * *

" _What about us? What about all the times you said you had the answers?_  
 _What about all the broken happy ever afters?_  
 _What about all the plans that ended in disaster?_ "  
 _What about us_ – P!nk

 _Uravity_

The best thing about dating Uraraka Ochaco was the fact that he could now (almost every time) just lean over and drop a kiss on her forehead or lips, and she would look at him with that red-ish tint on her cheeks that was so adorable, and depending where they were, she'd hold on to the front of his shirt and hide her face on his chest.

And then, independent of where they were – was it school, or the dorms, or the middle of the street – she'd turn to him, reach for his face, get on her tiptoes, tell PDA rules to screw themselves and kiss him on the mouth.

Even though it wasn't one of his priorities, it became Midoriya's favorite thing to be with Ochaco, getting to know her intimately, falling in love with her every day a little bit more and being able to put his arm around her waist, tangle his fingers on her hair.

The moment they let go of the formalities, it was like everything seemed to escalate quickly. They parted ways after arriving from camp, each one to their family homes, but as soon as school was back, it was as if they'd been together all along. While being apart, they had talked almost every single day, and it was surprisingly easier to keep it up in person, to the point where people started to raise eyebrows at them.

Ochaco kissed him for the first time two weeks into the second term during one of their spare sessions at the common hall of their building; even though she blushed, apologized and tried to run away, he held her hand and asked if they could talk. And now, they were one of those couples, you know? Those couples people see and are like about damn time.

"CLASS!" Tenya shouted strutting past them, interrupting their kissing. "WE'RE LATE FOR CLASS!"

"No, we're not!" Midoriya shouted back, putting an arm around Ochaco's shoulder as they headed to the main building. "You're the one who's always in a hurry."

Uraraka laughed, hiding her mouth with her hand.

"You think he forgot to go back to our dorm after his date with Hatsume again?" she asked Deku, elbowing him on the ribs, and he laughed.

"Tenya would never," he replied, and they both laughed.

For their second year, their class was in the second floor, and they took the stairs since 2-A was right in front of it, but as soon as their class' door came into view, they saw Kirishima trying… to grab Bakugo's ass? Midoriya looked at Uraraka, seeking for confirmation, and she raised her eyebrows. When he looked at the couple by the door again, Kacchan was pushing Kirishima away.

"What the fuck you think you're doing?" he complained, and Izuku climbed those final steps trying to drag Ochaco to the safest spot possible because years of experience made him sure Kacchan would explode, but Ocha was awfully reluctant to move. She wanted to watch.

"Huh?" Kiri replied. "You have a nice ass!"

"I know that," Kacchan snarked. "But don't you ever think we're gonna be like that, Shit for Brains."

"Like what?"

"You know," Ochaco hushed to Izuku. They both had their eyes glued to the scene that was developing. "Kiri is smarter than anyone would ever think."

"Why do you say that?" he hushed back, and she just tilted her head in their direction.

"Those gross, too much PDA co-" Bakugo was interrupted by Kirishima's lips on his, and even though he grunted at first (Kacchan always hated to be interrupted), he ended up kissing his boyfriend back.

"I see what you mean," Midoriya said, admiration pouring on his words. Ocha's perceptive skills were impressive, she had an eye for things even he couldn't put a finger on, sometimes, and Deku had been observing people his whole life.

"They're totally that kind of couple, aren't they?" Kyoka commented coming from the stairs and they both nodded.

"Damn, can I get in there?" Mina asked mischievously appearing at the door of their class. Bakugo pushed Kiri away.

"As if," he said and she gasped, a hand to her chest and all.

"You know, you guys couldn't even handle me," she said, pushing the boys apart and passing between them, putting an extra sway to her hips. Kacchan and Kiri watched her go, and then exchanged a look, doing one of those couple's silent conversation things. Mina came in Midoriya and Uraraka's direction smirking and then pointed at Ochaco. "Ectoplasm wants to talk to you before class."

"Me?" Ochaco asked pointing at herself. "What would it be about?"

"If it's the same he wanted to talk to me about, then it's internship stuff," Ashido said and Uraraka nodded, giving her bag to Midoriya. "I'll go with you, I need to get some things with the janitor. Doing Rep work, this one."

She hooked her arm on Ochaco's and both girls headed to the teacher's hall. Midoriya hung Ocha's bag on his shoulder, and even though he was just a few steps from the classroom, he still didn't get in.

"I envy her a lot," Kyoka said to no one in particular.

"Who?" he asked and she looked at him.

"Mina."

"You'd like to be in a threesome with Kiri and Kacchan?" Midoriya asked confused and Kyoka took her time to answer. "Oh, my God."

"It's not exactly that," she said, though she didn't try to pretend she wasn't interested. "It's just… she's so gorgeous and confident, you know? And she knows how to work her hotness, it's amazing."

"Hold on," Izuku said, putting a hand on Jiro's shoulder. She looked up at him. "Are you saying that you want to be her, or that you want to be with her?"

"Little bit of both, I guess?"

He dropped his hand and chuckled.

"Well, I think you have the beauty thing down," Deku said to Jiro. "Just gotta work on the confidence part. And I'll let you know, there are people who look at you like that, with that extra something. You're just not paying attention."

"If you mean Kaminari, Izuku, I will kill you."

Deku smirked and leaned closer to her as if to tell her a secret.

"Then you are paying attention."

Jiro made a face and crossed her arms, opting to keep her mouth shut instead, and dragging her feet to the class. He headed to the door too, right when Iida stepped outside looking stressed out of his mind.

"Bakugo, Kirishima, PDA rules!" Iida said firmly, pushing his glasses up his nose and then doing the robot arms.

"Yah, tell me how these PDA rules have to work for us but not for you when you're shagging that crazy head girlfriend of yours in an empty classroom," Kacchan asked sassily. Momo passed by Izuku but touched his shoulder in a silent request for him to wait.

"I-I certainly did not-" Tenya tried to explain himself, but Momo interrupted him, taking his arm and gently pushing him inside the classroom.

"I've got this, Iida," she said firmly, and sent a glare at Midoriya, meaning that it was his cue to take over before his friend would break down. It was so fast, that if he wasn't paying attention, one wouldn't see it, because she was soon focusing on the couple again. "Guys, come on."

Kirishima burst out laughing and Izuku patted Tenya's shoulder friendly.

"I did not break the rules, I did not do any shagging," Iida said, he was so upset it was evident in his voice.

It was hard to keep a straight face when Iida talked like that because he was such a goody-two-shoes – more than anyone Izuku knew – and some words or situations didn't seem to mash with him at all. It quite often seemed to freeze his brain too.

"I swear-"

"I know, buddy," Deku said, guiding his friend to his seat. "Kacchan is just messing with you, like usual. You would never do anything like that, you're the Ingenium, got to set those examples."

"Yes," Iida said, more excitedly. "Yes, Izuku, exactly."

"See? You know better than to listen to Kacchan." He put Ochaco's bag on her table behind Iida's, and then sat on Tsuyu's chair, just to finish that little chat before class would start. "Now, how many times we have to tell you to relax a little? You're stressing out for no reason."

Tenya looked at him as if he was crazy, and Midoriya smiled warmly. They all knew that Tenya's social skills were something to be approached very carefully, but sometimes, if talking to him the right way, they'd get an easy smile out of him, or get him to do something reckless or unexpected.

"Bakugo had some serious accusations about me, Izuku, things that could jeopardize my reputation and status as the class rep," he said all serious and business, meaning that Deku's shot at calming him down did not work at all. "If anyone was to suspect I did really commit such a nasty thing, it could even ruin my career as a professional hero."

A hand holding a slice of chocolate shortcake suddenly appeared between them – Sato's hand – and he sat the cake in front of Tenya, on his desk.

"Here, dude," Sato said offering him a plastic fork. "Have some, it'll help."

"I don't need a sugar rush," Iida said. "I don't even like sweets."

"But you will like this one," Sato guaranteed and pushed the fork in Iida's hand. "Go on."

Unsure if he should, he looked at Midoriya for a second opinion, and the other boy nodded encouragingly, so Tenya cut a bite of the cake and tentatively put it in his mouth. It was as if they could physically see his muscles relax and his brain work a little slower, the hardness of his features leaving for once – or at least until that cake lasted. Sato's quirk really was amazing, and Deku smiled at his colleague gratefully.

"That looks amazing," Uraraka said passing by Izuku to get to her seat, but he held her hand and she stepped back to sit on his lap instead. "Was that you, Sato?"

"Yes," he said from his neighbor seat, nodding. She smiled warmly, a hand cupping her cheek.

"You're the best," she told him and then looked at Tenya. "How you doing there, Rep?"

"I'm doing great," Tenya said with his mouth full of cake, a once in a lifetime sight. Ochaco's smile grew and she looked at Deku, who raised his eyebrows. "This is really good. How could I ever thank you, Rikido?"

"No need to thank me, Rep," Sato said, sharing the smile Ocha and Deku also had on their faces. Iida shook his head.

"I'll think of something," he guaranteed. "It's so good."

"I thought you didn't like sweets, kero," Tsuyu said stopping by Midoriya's other side and putting her things on her table.

Iida engaged on a conversation with Asui about flexible food tastes, and Ochaco turned to Izuku again, leaned her forehead against his temple.

"Is cute when he's like that, don't you think?" she said and he agreed.

"But sometimes it's so hard to get him to relax."

"Guys, I'm right here," Tenya cut them and they both blushed.

"Sorry!" they said at the same time, and he waved them off with his icing stained fork before he kept talking with Tsuyu.

"What did you have to talk with Ectoplasm?" Izuku asked; Ochaco shook her head.

"He just wanted to lay out my options for this year's winter internship. He said that since I didn't place very high at the tournament, maybe I should be seeking some other options."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Good morning, class!" Midnight said, finally showing up. Izuku checked his watch and saw that they were a couple of minutes late for the beginning of class. Like everyone who wasn't in their seats, he got up and hurried to sit down.

"You look cheerful, Ms. Midnight," Toru pointed out, and their teacher's smile widened.

"Well, I am cheerful, Mr. Hagakure, thanks for noticing," she said excitedly. "I had a radio interview last night, and after that, I had some fun. Didn't sleep much, but I feel invincible."

"I'll tell you later," Ochaco assured him as Deku headed to his seat.

"If you know what I mean," the teacher added with a wink.

Mineta raised his hand.

"Was it Present Mic?" he asked when she acknowledged him, and the reaction went from rolling eyes to actual groans. "The radio interview, not the after-fun!"

"Yeah, sure you mean that," Sero said, and from somewhere in the class, a paper ball was thrown. Nothing new in class A daily routine, it seemed.

"Guys, let's be nicer," Midnight said extra sweetly, smiling and leaning over, hands on her table. "No, Mr. Mineta, it wasn't Mic's radio program. Nor the fun. He's not entirely my type."

"Entirely? I thought she didn't have a type," Mineta continued, more for himself than anything else. "Thought her type was BDSM with whoever was lucky enough."

"Maybe you should be quiet," Izuku suggested in a low voice, leaning back for his colleague to hear.

Midnight laughed amused.

"Ah, I love this class," she said charmingly. "Don't tell anyone I said that but you're kind of everyone's favorite, you know? Strong, intelligent young people, with incredible quirks. And for the first time ever, you're all still here. No one was kicked out or dropped out! It's amazing."

"She's overly cheerful," Midoriya mumbled to himself, his hand on his chin pensively.

"She must've had some real fun," Sero said, glancing at Deku and Kacchan, who was nodding.

"I bet she beat up a bunch of villains, that's why she got so turned on," Bakugo speculated and Kyoka looked at him exasperatedly.

"Seriously?" she asked. Their hushes were louder than anything else, and everyone could hear them instead of pay attention to what the teacher was writing on the board. "And you still think you're in any position to complain about Mineta's comments?"

"Thank you, Kyoka," Mineta said solemnly and she scoffed.

"Shut up, dude," she said turning on her seat again and opening her notebook.

They all mirrored her because Midnight was actually passing them their weekly schedule and it was important. Even though Jiro did raise a good point of how the boys talked about their homeroom teacher compared to Mineta's comments, it still felt hard to find a balance between the two situations. They were not nearly a certified Perv as the other boy, that was for sure.

So Deku ignored the sigh he heard coming from behind him when Jiro cut the boy, and he focused on trying to figure out what kind of overseas hero would agree to visit U.A. for their Thursday seminar. Even though U.A. was definitely one of the best hero schools in the world, sometimes it still felt surreal that he – the quirkless boy – was having the opportunity to meet all those incredible people and heroes.

Izuku took a mental note to call Toshinori after class that night. It'd been a few days since they talked, and he missed having his mentor around, the way he gave him crypt advice and taught him how to be a better person, a better hero. With the end of their first year, All Might stopped teaching and moved out to stay with Gran Torino for a while, and it'd been tough for Izuku to handle things by himself, but he believed that a simple call would help.

Yeah, it'd be good to talk.

-X-

Turned out that All Might would come for dinner that weekend at the Midoriya household (Izuku himself had no idea when Toshi and his mother started that friendship-ish thing, but it wasn't as if he cared. His mom and All Might had always been his biggest supporters, and it was only fair that they teamed up), so instead of staying at U.A. that weekend, Deku went back home with a bunch of stories to tell about a hero who came all the way from America to teach them how to balance their personal lives with their heroes lives.

The hero – her name was Flashlight and she could run so fast, she energized the air – was one of America's top superheroes; she was about Midnight's age and she also managed to have a family and everything. U.A. only got to bring her because Midnight had worked with her at the beginning of their careers, their internships were in the same building and they became really good friends, but it was the first time she came to Japan, and she was so excited her lectures were awesome.

Flashlight stayed for two days, her activities were mixed with their normal program, since she had to talk to the whole hero and support students. They even got to meet her youngest kid, and he was a funny little thing who could control iron. Every single one of Izuku's colleagues who'd had to work at kindergarten stayed clear from the kid, but not him. Izuku loved kids. They were honest and amusing, and yes, they could be a lot of work sometimes, but the way they approached things so bravely and honestly always amazed him.

"As a matter of fact," Izuku told his mother during their lunch on Sunday. "Flashlight and her son made me think about all the different quirks there are around the world, and how families can be so diverse, like Kacchan and Mt. Lady, or this guy from support who can convince you of anything and his brother, who can bend time and will try for the hero course. His name is Kaneda, remember him, Toshi?"

All Might cough on a napkin before answering.

"I'm afraid I don't, my boy."

"Well, he's a graduate from the support class, and his little brother can actually go back in time, but I don't know exactly how the can do that. Apparently, all he needs is a trinket to pull him back or something. I didn't understand completely how it'd work, but I can't wait to find out when he starts school next year."

"Now, don't you go scaring the new kid with your questions, Izuku," his mother said with a wink, gently tapping the back of his hand. She knew damn well that he could be intense, it was in the Midoriya blood. "You can be really intense sometimes."

Izuku smiled feeling himself blush and looked at All Might. Well, he'd had a pretty good teacher when it came to the intensity thing, and he was pretty sure Toshinori knew he was partially responsible for it because the man was looking out the window, pretending he had nothing to do with that conversation. It had been his obsession with All Might that started it all, though.

"Ms. Flashlight's presence was really useful, then, I believe?" All Might asked, changing the subject. "Now that you have a girlfriend and everything."

Izuku's eyes widened and his cheeks got even redder because that was a subject that got his mom talking for hours, something that embarrassed him profoundly. As expected, Inko squealed excitedly, hands on her cheeks.

"Ochaco! She's such a good girl!" she said and All Might nodded.

"She really is. Great kid, with something great ahead of her, I can feel it," he said and leaned over, giving Izuku one of his glares. "Same way I feel about you, son. You two are a good match."

"I know," Deku said, scratching his nose uncomfortably. "I mean, thanks. And yes, it was useful, the activities, though there are some things I don't know exactly how to approach."

"Like what?" Inko asked, ready to help. "I'm a girl, I sure can understand a girl problem."

"I don't think there's exactly a problem…" Izuku said slowly. "It's just that sometimes she feels… distracted. But I'm sure it's nothing."

"Distracted?" his mother echoed. "Maybe she's just preparing a surprise? It's really hard to keep secrets from the person you like."

Izuku shrugged, knowing well how hard it could be to keep secrets from people. He also didn't like to talk about the vibe he was getting from Ochaco, because it was hard to understand it; perhaps Ocha was keeping secrets from him, but it didn't feel like it was a surprise, it felt like… sometimes, when she looked at him, she was looking at someone else. He didn't know how to explain.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, sweetie," Inko said, pushing Izuku's hair back, and then she frowned. "You need a haircut."

"Mom!"

Izuku and All Might took the same train on the way back because the line would go all the way to Tokyo downtown, where Toshi had "business to take care off". He didn't offer a lot of explanation, and Midoriya didn't press him into any, because he still was thinking about Flashlight's life example.

"What's in your mind, my boy?" Toshi asked. He had a seat, but Izuku was standing by his side. "Still thinking about the girl Ochaco?"

"No, not exactly," Deku answered, scratching his head. "I was just wondering that… if you had the chance to go back, would you do things all the same, or would you try to find a partner, form a family?"

All Might's eyebrows went up and he smirked.

"Shimura tried."

"I know, but that's not what I asked."

For a moment, Izuku thought Toshinori wouldn't answer, because he had this distant look on his face, and he kept his mouth closed for a long time, but apparently, he was just thinking it through.

"I don't think I would, no," he finally said, looking at Midoriya again. "Why? Are you thinking about it? You think someday you and Uraraka will have the chance to settle down and start a family?"

Deku giggled and blushed, shaking his head.

"Settle down would be a stretch, I guess," he said, getting redder by the second. His station was next, hopefully, he'd escape that conversation pretty soon. "But… I don't know… maybe."

Toshi looked at him kindly and smiled, patted Izuku's hand sympathetically.

"It's tough to be in love at such a young age, I know," he said, and Midoriya fought the urge to reply with 'you do?' "But you guys have time. Lots of time. You'll figure it out, I'm sure."

The train came to a stop the exact moment he nodded, motivated by All Might's confidence. See, that was what Midoriya missed with Toshi living away, the capacity the man had of seeing things through. Sure, he could figure things out on his own, but girl problems were… new for him, romantic relationships were new for him. Couldn't help being a bit anxious about it, right?

Besides, the more time passed, the more Izuku grew confident that his thing with Ochaco being distracted was just him reading too much into it.

He and Toshi said their goodbyes and he followed his way back to U.A. knowing that things would be fine. His mom had packed homemade mochis for Ocha with a request for her to come over next time, and when he'd arrive at the dorm, they'd eat and study and everything would be perfec-

"Ocha?" Izuku mumbled to himself when he saw her familiar brown hair up ahead, turning on a corner to a short street with little to no movement. Where was she going to? "Isn't this the place where the police found her after she was assaulted? Maybe she found the person who helped her that day and is paying a visit?"

He kept mumbling, without noticing that he was following her, while keeping a safe distance. Ochaco was waking with steady determination, and when she reached the middle of the block, she pushed open the door of a short building that looked pretty much abandoned.

Deku stopped, frowning at the building. That was weird, he didn't think there was anyone living in there, or working, seeing that the grey boxy building looked more like an abandoned commercial building.

He looked back at the Sunday evening movement of Shimura Avenue, and then at the building again, wondering what he should do, but curiosity got the best of him and his feet lead him to the building too. Izuku watched the numbers go up on the elevator until it stopped on 6, but instead of calling the elevator back down, he decided to take the stairs right by his right.

In those types of buildings, the elevator door was usually in the middle of the lobby, and if Ochaco was visiting someone, he didn't want to intrude showing up at someone's living room, or something. So Izuku took the stairs, two steps at a time. He supposed Uraraka would be happy to see him too, and he wanted to meet the person who helped her when she needed it.

He quickly reached the 6th floor, and the door to the single apartment, even though it was ajar, was barely noticeable – just a camouflaged plaque that slid to the side. There was no sound coming from inside, and Izuku checked again to see if he was in the right level, but then a small sniff came from inside the apartment and caught his attention.

Crying. Ochaco was crying, and he was afraid someone was doing her some harm, so he tried to slide the door as silently as possible in order to get in and find out what was happening. He was sure Ochaco was a good enough hero and didn't quite need his help to get out of whatever situation she got herself into, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try his best to help out if necessary.

The door gave access to a large loft through a neatly polished kitchen. There was no sign of anyone living in that place for quite a while now, and everything about the place felt sketchy for him as if he was entering some kind of time-space displacement.

Ochaco sniffed again, and listening closer Izuku actually thought that she was… alone. To his left, there was a glass room, and right in the middle was the elevator, as he expected. The room was bright and grey, and one of the walls was filled with pictures he couldn't quite make out from the distance, but as he stepped closer, the unsettling feeling in his stomach only got worse.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Izuku?" Ochaco called with a weak voice, and he looked back at her startled. She was sitting on a bed, holding on to something – a picture? – and looking at him with the same level of surprise as him. "How did you get here?"

He swallowed, unsure of how his voice would work in that creepy place and she blinked at him, two tears rapidly falling from her right eye. She hurried to wipe them with the back of her hand and he saw that it was indeed a picture in her hand. Deku stepped closer.

"I saw you," he said. "What is this place?"

"Huh?" she said, her hands on her lap and Izuku finally could see the photo perfectly. It was a photo of him and her, and a photo he was pretty sure they didn't take.

"What is that? Where did you get that?"

Uraraka clearly swallowed nervously, sitting straighter on the bed and tucking her hair behind her ears before answering him. She left the photo on her lap this time and didn't stop him from taking it when he reached in her direction.

"Someone gave it to me," Ochaco said almost like a question.

"Who?" he asked frowning at the photo. It was him and Ochaco at some beach with green mountains in the back, but he couldn't know what place exactly it was. As if sensing his question, he found the scribing on the back of the photo. Honolulu, winter.

The weirdest part was that it was his handwriting.

He looked at Ochaco again, feeling more and more confused.

"The Masked Blur?" she said. "This was his place."

The Masked Blur? Used to live this close to U.A.? How, what-

Midoriya faced the wall with the photos again, only then noticing the clocks all down to zero. Countdowns, maybe? But to what? That story made less sense by the minute.

"He saved you from that fall a few months ago?" he asked and she didn't answer right away. "You said the police met you around here, I just…"

"Figured," she finished the sentence for him. "Yeah. It was him."

"You saw who he was?" Deku said, frowning at other photos too, all glued to that wall. When Ochaco didn't answer, he turned to look at her and she nodded. "Who was he, Ocha?"

She swallowed again and slowly stood up. She didn't get close to him, but as she spoke, she looked right into his eyes.

"He was you."

-X-

Ochaco explained to him as best as she could everything there was to know. Apparently, Midoriya would come from the future to prevent her death. He'd assume the role of the Masked Blur to keep her alive, and go as far as follow them to the summer camp and face Toga Himiko in that shed up the hill.

"And when the time comes, you'll have to go, I think," she had told him, both hands on his cheeks. "But I'll be here waiting for you to come back, I promise."

It was a lot to think about, and he felt dizzy with all that information. All the wrong questions kept popping up in his mind and trying to escape his mouth, and it was really hard to keep them down.

"Is that why you kissed me?" he asked avoiding eye contact, and Ocha let out a surprised sound. Her hands dropped to her sides. "Because you fell in love with some other version of me you couldn't have anymore?"

"What?" she exclaimed. "No, Izuku! I barely knew him! Sure he was you, but he was different. Brokenhearted… and sad. I don't know. But I wasn't in love with him!" she held his arm, catching his eyes. "You and I, Izuku, we're bound to happen. Don't you think?"

"But you're different, too, now, after him. You miss him."

"I don't need to miss him, I have you."

"Yeah, but you do," Midoriya said firmly and he watched her lip tremble. She didn't know how to answer him. "I don't think I'm good enough for you right now."

Ochaco's eyes widened and she held his face in her hands again desperately, making him look at her.

"But you will, Deku, you will! I love you, and you love me, and that should be enough-"

"Ochaco," he interrupted her taking her hands in his and making her drop them. "This is too much right now. I… I can't. Give me time."

Midoriya left that building without as much as a goodbye, finally heading to the school to try and put his thoughts in order, but only managing to spin the facts harder and faster. Part of him thought (or hoped, better saying) from the start that he and Ochaco would be together eventually. He fell a little bit in love with her for different reasons every day, and the casual friendship they started on that first exam day bloomed and grew, took its time.

He supposed he loved Uraraka. He certainly liked her more than everyone else, and in a romantic way too. Sure he liked Kyoka, and it was awesome to have his first time with her, but with Ocha… it was different. Like a puzzle perfectly put together, it felt like that, and to find out that there was another version of him that got to her first was… disturbing.

Honestly, how was he supposed to feel with that information?

"I guess…" Ochaco had told him with her nice, soft voice. "That we're so in love, so in love, you missed me too much. Can you imagine that, Izuku?"

No, he couldn't. But also yes, sort of. Because he was already in love with her, and he believed that she was in love with him too, this him from now, and if they let that feeling grow together, it could be unbearably intoxicating. There probably could come a day when he'd be so in love with her he'd miss her too much.

So, yes. But he couldn't outer the words like that just yet because he still had a lot to think about yet and the best way to clear his mind would be through some good old exercise.

"Midoriya!" Mineta called when he was passing by the TV area when he arrived. "You're back just in time! Wanna watch this week's episode of Video Killed the Sidekick Star?"

Tempting. That series was one of his favorites, it talked about sidekicks on the way to stardom that were caught on video doing something not hero-y and for that they saw their careers derail. The documentary would show what led the hero to that point caught on camera and how they were trying to get back on their feet, and it was actually a pretty interesting show, even if it was kind of tacky, but Izuku wasn't in the mood.

"No, thank you," he replied going straight to the stairs. "I'm not in the mood."

"Oh," Mineta mumbled. "Okay."

Watching that TV show was one of the things that Izuku and Minoru would usually do together, sometimes with Toru, Tenya or Mina's company, but really, Midoriya needed to punch things, so he went to his bedroom and changed into something more comfortable, headed downstairs again wrapping his hands in gauze and left the box of mochis with Ochaco's name on top in the kitchen's table before he tapped Kirishima's shoulder.

"Can you spot me?" he requested. Kiri was on the bike spinning away, and he was everyone's favorite when it came to helping exercise.

"Of course!" he said opening a big smile. "Just give me two minutes."

That was more than enough time for Izuku to get himself a bottle of water and a chunk of cheese to chew on.

"Don't spoil dinner," Ayoama scolded because Deku had gotten the cheese from a pile he'd been cutting. "We'll have fondue."

"Fancy," he replied. "Don't worry, I'll need to replace a lot of calories after that." He pointed at the common area and Yuga raised an eyebrow. He's never been much of an athletic guy anyway.

"Deku!" Kirishima called, and Izuku turned to look at him standing in the middle of the gym area. "Have something in mind or want me to guide your circuit?"

"I don't know, I feel like punching things."

Kiri's smile became mischievous.

"Sounds like you'd like my monster circuit, then," he said hitting a fist on his palm, and Midoriya mirrored his smile.

"Yes."

-X-

Ochaco arrived about ten minutes after him and got word through Yuga that Izuku had left a box for her. He had put the box in the fridge because he was using the space, but she found the box and Deku quickly glanced away when she saw its contents, not waiting to see how she would react. He needed some space no.

"Did you guys fight?" Kiri asked lowly, keeping their chat private. Midoriya concentrated on the punches he was throwing at the sandbag. "You usually greet each other first thing when you arrive, and you barely looked at her. Plus, she looks like she's been crying and you're getting high on adrenalin."

"Don't want to talk about it," Izuku replied, punching a little harder than intended, and Kiri grunted, taking the surprise hit. "Sorry!"

"Don't worry, I can take it," he winked. "But seriously, did you fight?"

Midoriya stopped and glared at the other boy, who raised his hands in surrender. It was no time for perceptive Kirishima.

"Fine."

He stopped asking questions but didn't stop drilling Midoriya with the bodybuilding circuit he had come up with, and it honestly was so nice to just clear his mind and focus on the physicality of it all. Izuku punched and punched until his t-shirt was soaked and he had to take it off, throw it in some corner. He grabbed the hand towel he'd brought with him to dry off, and he got a few catcalls for it.

"You know they tease you especially because you blush so easily, right?" Kirishima told Deku, only making him blush more as he punched the bag again. The other boy giggled. "Alright, slow down, we're moving to alters now."

"Sure!" Izuku replied excitedly. Kiri stepped away from the sandbag the exact moment he threw a punch, and Midoriya mustn't have calculated it right because the sandbag broke down, spilling its contents on their feet dramatically. "Oh, shit."

Around them, their friends shouted and Mina punched the button of the panel Momo had made to their common area ("It has been 2 days without broken gym equipment. Our record is of 4 days." Only now they had to set the counting back to zero), which let out a loud horn sound.

"Guys, come on!" Mineta complaining, trying to be louder than the others. Izuku and Kirishima tried to step out of the sand without spreading it more with little success because their shoes were filled with sand. "I'm trying to watch TV!"

"Dude, you live in a fucking dorm," Sero replied. "Do you really expect to actually watch anything outside of your room?"

"Deku, you get a pass today, because I can't, for the love of God, do anything with sand in my feet," Kiri said taking off his shoes.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Izuku, come here!" Kyoka called from the sofa, and when he looked over at her, he also saw Mineta walking away putting on his earplugs as he headed to the stairs.

"What's up with him?" Midoriya asked and his colleagues shrugged.

"No clue," Jiro said. She was on one of the couches holding her cell phone and waved at him to get closer. "Come here, I want to prove a theory."

"What's it about?" he asked, taking off his shoes too before he stepped closer and sat on the sofa by her side. She was holding her phone, and there were a lot of their colleagues crowding the living room, the TV on playing the reality show.

"I'm taking pics of everyone because I saw this comic on Instaphoto and I want to see if it's real."

"Jiro, you already know it's real," Mina replied. She was sitting on the floor in front of them, with Denki hovering near her. "You took a photo of me, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but you don't count, Mina, you already are naturally pretty."

"Thank you!" Ashido replied with a grin, and Midoriya frowned at Jiro.

"Meaning…"

"Here, check this," Jiro said showing him the comic that had intrigued her. "So rumor has it that if you want to not look like a potato in photos, all you have to do is…"

"Put a finger on your lips," Izuku completed and she nodded. He shrugged. "I mean, makes sense."

"Kind of," she replied fiercely. "I mean, Tsuyu does that all the time, and she's the most adorable human being I've ever met."

"Thanks, kero!" Tsuyu replied from the other sofa, even though she was looking at the TV and didn't seem to be paying attention to their conversation.

"So, I'm taking pictures of everyone to prove the theory, starting by the pretty ones in our class, just to set a standard. Look," Jiro opened the gallery and started flipping through photos. "First was Kiri, because honestly, angel face, blessing from God."

Izuku looked over at Kirishima, who was sharing the sofa with Tsuyu and Kacchan. He was trying to clean his feet with a towel but didn't miss a beat to flash them a smile. And then he looked at the photo again to see that indeed, Eijiro looked quite nice in the "beauty pose". The next photo was of Shoji, and he had made it goofy, using his tentacles. It was awesome.

"I think I look pretty good," Shoji said with a serious nod, and Midoriya, who was trying not to laugh, couldn't help it anymore.

"Are you kidding me? These are great!" he said in the middle of his laugh. Jiro passed to the next photo, and the next until she reached the final one. She also had photographed Momo, Tsuyu, Mina, Ocha, Denki, Iida, Sato, and Koda.

"Now I'm photographing normal people, not those freakishly beautiful aliens," she said waving at the others dismissively.

"Oi! I didn't hear you asking me for a picture!" Katsuki protested, and Jiro raised an eyebrow.

"That's because you have to be calm and relaxed to take those photos, Kacchan," Izuku provoked with a smirk. "Two things we know you're incapable of."

"DEKU!" Bakugo growled, sparks in his hands while there was a collective chuckle between them, and Kiri rested a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down. Only took Izuku a year and a half, and it still was a work in progress, but he was exponentially losing his fear of Kacchan, as well as getting to be better friends with him.

"And now it's your turn, Izuku," Jiro said, not offering an answer to Bakugo, who only growled more.

"Wait, but what about you?" he asked.

"What about me?" she replied smartly and reached for his hair. "Let me fix this mess first."

"I should cut it, shouldn't I?"

Jiro smiled and shrugged as she tried to smooth his hair in a presentable way.

"Maybe, have a more professional look. There."

"I'll take the picture, alright," Deku said pushing his hair back, practically undoing Kyoka's work. "But you'll have to take one too."

"I will!" she said almost defensive.

"Right after me."

Jiro made a face and then rolled her eyes, but she didn't protest his request.

"Ready?" she said pointing the camera at him, and he nodded. "Finger to the lip. Feel sexy, Izuku."

"Like this?" he asked making sure to exaggerate a little and Jiro chuckled as she snapped the photo.

"Well, look at you too sexy for your shirt," Yuga said appearing behind them and leaning on the sofa. Midoriya blushed. "Can I see?"

"Sure," Jiro passed the phone to him. "How's our dinner, Yuga?"

"Almost ready, sweetie, don't try to rush perfection."

"I'm not!"

"We're just hungry," Kaminari said, keeping on Jiro's side.

"Don't be silly, it's barely 5 in the afternoon," Ayoama replied. He hummed looking at the photo.

"So?" Izuku poked Yuga. "Do I look sexy or just another potato?"

Ayoama smiled at him and handed him the phone. The photo was cute, he thought. Definitely not a potato, but not as good as Denki's pic. Deku looked at Jiro, then, who was talking to Yuga in whispers. He poked her and pointed the camera at her.

"Your turn, Jiro," he said smiling and she sighed dramatically.

"It won't work."

"Why not?" he asked. "It wouldn't be hard, you're already pretty."

"Flatterer," Jiro replied blushing and looking away. Kaminari, who was sitting on her other side now, elbowed her offended.

"Hey! I said the same thing and you flipped on me!" he protested. "How's it Midoriya can call you beautiful and I can't?"

Kyoka stared at Denki with raised eyebrows, but since it looked like he wanted a genuine answer, she said-

"Because his compliments come from his heart, not his dick."

"Woooooo!" their colleagues chanted loudly and Izuku had to cover his mouth with his hand to cover both his laughter and blush. On his defense, Kaminari didn't even blush, he just gasped dramatically.

"How does that even matter?" he replied. "I said you looked hot, that's a compliment!"

"The fact that you don't know the difference-" Jiro started, but suddenly decided on a different approach, turning on the couch to address someone else. "Yuga, how do I look today? Any good?"

Ayoama, who was back in the kitchen to check on his fondue, had to shout his answer, but even that he could do gracefully.

"Good?" he echoed. "Sweetheart, with that pretty doll face of yours you think good is enough to describe you? I wish I looked that fabulous. Oh, wait! I do! Twinsies."

Jiro turned to Denki smiling from ear to ear as if she had just proven a huge point.

"See? That's better."

"It doesn't count, Yuga doesn't give straight compliments," Kaminari complained crossing his arms.

"Who said I want straight compliments?"

"Oh, my God, you guys!" Momo exclaimed throwing her hands up.

"Deku is straight… ish," Kaminari said ignoring Momo. "And you accept his compliments!"

"But Deku has a girlfriend," Jiro said elbowing Izuku. He glanced across the room immediately finding Ochaco, and she had turned to look at him too, but they both looked away as soon as their eyes crossed, still uncomfortable. Too soon, the sign blinked in his head.

"Okay, I'll take a shower!" Izuku announced, suddenly standing up, and in the blink of an eye, Kacchan was by his side taking the phone from his hand.

"Give me that," Katsuki said. "Headphones, let's take the motherfucking picture already. You," he held Izuku's arm pulling him closer, and when he spoke to him, it was in a low, controlled voice. "Fix it."

"Fix what?"

"You know what."

Kacchan pointed towards the kitchen discreetly and to be fair Izuku knew exactly what he meant – Katsuki and Ochaco had this understanding between them that was hard to explain – but instead of feeling embarrassed, Izuku only felt annoyed.

"How about you mind your business?" he replied, snatching his arm from his grasp.

They'd been getting along better lately, increasingly better, if one would ask, but that didn't stop Izuku and Katsuki from butting heads every now and then, and this time it wasn't different. Bakugo hadn't the slightest idea what was going on between Ocha and Deku, but he noticed the difference in their behavior and he didn't miss a beat on putting the blame on him. Going head to head with him like that only made him sure that Izuku was to blame, and it got Katsuki growling just to get a growl back.

That staring contest lasted for a good while until their colleagues got tired of it and interrupted them.

"If you're not taking the pic, then give my phone back," Kyoka said, reaching out to grab her phone, but Kacchan raised his arm, keeping it out of her reach.

"No, back off," he said pushing her back to the sofa to sit where Midoriya previously was. It was his cue to get out of their hair and hit the showers. Izuku had a lot of thinking to do.

-X-

Here was what Izuku knew: that he'd grow to love Ochaco so much he'd go back in time to save her by being rid of Toga. Toga, who'd been the subject of many of U.A.'s troubles recently, especially with 2-B. He could only guess that Toga would try to gravely hurt Ochaco (hell, maybe even kill her), and if he'd have to go against his principles to stop that from happening, he would. That was how important Ochaco would be for him.

The solution to all of that seemed simple enough, technically speaking. He had to stop – being in love with her, he meant. Had to keep it professional and distant, and avoid her at any cost for things to be normal again, sort of. It was hard to understand how this time travel thing happened.

But.

If he ends up not loving Ochaco enough, and consequently not going back in time… what would happen to her? How settled was the past at this point in time? How manageable could it still be? What big of a risk would he be taking?

Besides, what guarantee there was that the reason Toga would attack Ochaco would be him? How much their relationship was directly linked to the plans of the League of Villains? Breaking up with her would fix that, or the future was settled just like the past?

So for the following couple of weeks, Izuku did what he did best – he studied. Every book, every movie, every TV show on time travel, in his spare time he dissected them. From confusing British TV shows to acclaimed book series, he went through them all in record time – had them happy endings or not, seeking the key parts that would help him understand the concept better. It would've been hypocritical of him if he only researched material where things were happily ever after.

Life… could go either way, couldn't it?

There was only one flaw in his plan, though.

Izuku already was in love with Ochaco. He fell in love with her from the first moment he saw her and she was nice to him, and sure it also was the first time he talked to a girl, so everything was a bit overwhelming, but then… he kept getting back at this, that he fell a little bit more in love with her every single day as their friendship developed and they grew together in that crazy environment that U.A. was, and it felt that perhaps they – as she pointed out – were meant to be. Getting to know her had been a blessing and a curse, but more of a blessing than anything else, in true honesty.

"The way I see it," Iida said over Midoriya's crazy notes-taking while they watched a movie about an assassin who'd have to kill his older self who was sent back in time. "You two are miserable and I feel bad for being happy and unable to make you two get back together."

His words didn't quite process in Izuku's mind for a moment, but when they did, he immediately stopped scribing and frowned at Tenya.

"That makes no sense at all," Izuku mumbled, confused as to how the logic worked in his friend's head. "Are you saying you shouldn't feel happy if Ocha and I aren't?"

Iida shrugged, which was a rare thing for him to do, and then he looked away pushing up his glasses.

"You guys…" he started still not looking at Midoriya. "I knew it was bound to happen, but you didn't even tell me when you started dating, and you didn't tell anyone when you broke up. I'm your friend, and I'm her friend, and I'm caught in the middle without knowing what do to about it! You know I don't have a lot of experience with relationships and all, and to make things worse, none of you even explained to me why you weren't together anymore."

"It's…" Midoriya said feeling embarrassed. He distracted himself by pausing the movie before continuing. "A long story."

"I have a lot of time, you know?" Tenya said, glancing at Izuku. "We've been spending quite a lot of time watching time travel things when we could be talking."

"Oh, haven't you heard?" Mineta said, popping out of nowhere and showing up behind them. He circled the sofa they were sitting on to take a seat on a couch. "No one talks with anyone in these dorms anymore. They just announce and demand."

Izuku, whose mouth was open to defend himself with arguments of how complicated his story with Ochaco was – so complicated that he himself didn't even know all the details yet because he was pretty sure Ocha didn't tell him everything – but Mineta's words were so unexpected that he found himself speechless.

"You know what day is it?" Mineta asked, glaring at Midoriya who shook his head.

"Friday?"

"Yeah, Friday," he replied and checked his wristwatch. "About halfway through the season premiere of Video Killed."

Midoriya's eyes widened when he remembered of their usual Friday program, realizing that he'd been renting the lounge TV for the whole afternoon already. Everyone knew better than to interrupt him when he was up to a project, but he didn't even think that he was interrupting someone else's.

"Shit," he whispered and Mineta rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, shit. Can I have the controls now?"

"Yeah, of course! Sorry!" Izuku hurried to hand him the TV controls and Mineta practically snatched them from his hands, making him and Iida exchange a worried look.

"Why are you taking notes on time travel anyway?" Iida asked and Midoriya felt the sweat drop on his back. He quickly closed his notebook and got up.

"It's a hobby!" he explained vaguely, and Tenya glared at him. Izuku sighed. "How about we get some pizza and talk in my room?"

He wasn't going to tell him everything, it was better to keep the whole time travel thing out of the picture and just focus on tangible issues that'd been going on in his head, but Tenya was right, he was their friend and they'd been neglecting him. That had to stop right about now.

Iida nodded avidly and got up too. They gathered their things and headed to the stairs, but Midoriya glanced back at the living room and frowned at the back of Mineta's head. He had changed the channels and in a normal weekend, Izuku would join him, but it'd been a while now since they had a proper conversation, or spent some time together. He wondered why.

"That was weird, right?" he whispered to Tenya. "What Mineta said."

Iida nodded again, and also quickly glanced back.

"It was," he said climbing up the stairs. "I'll keep an eye on it to see if there's something going on."

"Yeah, me too."

-X-

Neither Izuku nor Tenya had any clue of how a relationship was supposed to work, so they spent the night of Friday to Saturday in Midoriya's room brainstorming about their girl problems. That was how Izuku found out that Iida was still a virgin, and that he and Mei had agreed to take things slow – unsurprising, considering how long they'd danced around each other before their first kiss.

Deku wasn't a virgin anymore, though he only had sex one time before summer break, and Tenya was probably the only person who (now) knew that he'd lost his virginity to Jiro. It also had been her first time, and it was really awkward, but they were kind of drunk, very horny, and doing their best at figuring things out on their own, so it had been nice nonetheless.

Considering that he had more experience, even if so limited, Izuku ended up having to answer a lot of questions from Iida, most of them about things an internet search wouldn't help much. It was what Sero liked to call "bro time", and even though Tenya had a super cool older brother, he never felt comfortable enough to talk to him about that kind of stuff.

"He started dating Shoto's sister around the time Mei and I… started to get closer you know? But I don't know… it's easier to talk to you."

But the following night, Iida wasn't around to distract Izuku, and it left him with way too many thoughts rolling around his brain. He laid awake in his bed for most of the night, his mind going on a spiral of gotta-stop-liking-her-can't-stop-liking-her and it was driving him crazy, so Midoriya finally decided to get up and list the pros and cons of getting back with Ochaco – if she even wanted him back, that was.

The first topic of his "pro" list was "she lives," and Izuku realized that after that… nothing else mattered. He didn't want a world without Ochaco, because she was sweet, selfless and kind and all the things a hero must be. She had proven time and time again what a great student she was, and how capable of overcoming hardships she could be, and he knew without a doubt that she would make a huge difference in the world.

Even if he didn't love her as much as he did (or would do), Deku was sure that he'd still look for a way of rescuing her – like he once looked for a way to rescue Kacchan, and Eri, and Kota, and Monoma. That was just his nature, he guessed, a good one, and there was no need to try and fight the good things.

The list was left with that single item on top of his bed, and Midoriya went downstairs. It was still long until breakfast, the sun was still barely poking up, but he prepared some coffee, ate some fruit salad while waiting for it to be ready, and checked the gym's equipment as he ate. The panel on the wall said that they'd been five days without breaking anything, the new record, and Izuku suddenly felt the need to do some exercises – not to break something, of course, but because he didn't have anything else to do.

So he ate his breakfast, changed into some training clothes and hit the track field to run a few laps. By the time Midoriya went back to the dorm, the sun was already up and most of his colleagues were having breakfast on the table. He greeted them and headed to the gym to throw a few punches before he'd take a shower, and it was during that exercise that she came to his side.

"Aiming to break another sandbag?"

Izuku smirked and threw a couple more punches before looking at her.

"Nah, just burning some steam," he said and bowed his head. "Morning, Ocha."

"Morning, Izuku," she said timidly. By their side, the sandbag swayed in no particular direction. "How you've been?"

"Doing a lot of thinking," Deku said and Ochaco chuckled.

"Right, but that's just regular you," she said, struggling to control her laughter. She wasn't wrong. "Izuku-"

"Ocha-" he said at the same time as she spoke up, but she closed her mouth and gestured for him to continue. "I did a lot of research lately, you know? About time traveling and fixing time and I heard one thing in this superheroes show that stuck with me. Sometimes, time wants to happen. It's a bittersweet show," he continued before she could interrupt him. He stepped closer to her, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But what it meant to me was that sometimes things are bound to happen, and, I mean, you and I…"

"What about you and I?" Ochaco asked under her breath. Izuku reached out and touched her face, trying to see beyond the story she told him, but all he could find was right now.

He felt relief in that – on the way Ochaco leaned on his touch and closed her eyes, and how it felt like she was getting even closer, even if they didn't move at all. It was a moment to savor, really, and right now was under his control, in a way; whatever they did with that control would be worthy, he was sure.

"I tried, Ocha," he confessed under his breath and she looked at him, her eyes bright brown. "I told myself to let this go even before we started dating, because we have goals and plans that can't afford the distraction, but-"

"I tried too," she confessed as well, putting her hand in his on her face. "Izuku, I've been trying for so long to fall out of love with you, and when I found out that the Masked Blur was you I knew better. I knew that if I'd give in to him, things would get worse with you because it's you I've been in love with for over a year. This is not a fluke, I know what I feel. And I'm sorry things are so fucked up right now, but there's no turning back."

"Well," Izuku shrugged playfully and dropped his hand. Ochaco still held his hand, and she chuckled at his little joke but soon got serious again.

"Don't you get it, Izuku?" she asked, still talking in that soft voice of hers. "It's you and I together to make things happen, but this is bigger than us. So I get what you mean about time wanting to happen, I really do, but I made you a promise. You saved me – will save me -, and I'll be here waiting for you when you have to go back in time to save me again, to save all of us again." She chuckled again, this time in a serious way. "Izuku, you saved us all so many times, all because of the promise we made to each other. Or will make. Or are maki-"

Izuku interrupted her mid-sentence leaning over and pressing his lips on hers, and despite Ochaco's initial surprise she soon closed her eyes, reciprocating the kiss. Her hands went to the back of his neck and they stumbled to the side, looking for something to steady them in the ample room. The back of his knees hit the hammock of the weight lift equipment, and he sat down bringing Ocha with him at the exact moment their colleagues noticed them.

Under "uuuhs" and whistles, Ochaco climbed to Izuku's lap and they barely broke the kiss in the process. He missed her so much already, only two weeks, and he needed to be with her. It didn't matter that he had more questions than answers when it came to their relationship at this point, he loved her.

What else could he do?

"Fucking hell," Katsuki complained from the table. "There are people trying to eat here, get a room!"

"Why are you like that?" Toru asked, and Midoriya couldn't help but smile in the kiss.

Ochaco kissed down his chin and the line of his jaw, her fingers tangling on his hair, and when her mouth was close enough to his ear, she whispered the smallest of the suggestions.

"Maybe we should get a room."

She looked at him with a smirk and he raised an eyebrow.

"To… talk?" he suggested, and even though her cheeks got a deeper blush, she shook her head no.

"No," she said, and he couldn't help but smile too, feeling his face grow hot.

Ochaco leaned closer to him staring into his eyes, one of her hands on his shoulder, the other down his chest.

"I know there's still a lot to be said," she told him. "But we have time if we make it."

"You know what?" Izuku replied, his arm around her waist. "You're absolutely right."

Ochaco's smile widened and she got on her feet again, pulling him up with her. Not wanting to put too much space between them, Izuku leaned for another kiss putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Your place or mine?" she asked and then covered her mouth as if surprised with herself and he chuckled, but his brain did a quick scan of what his room was looking like after a sleepover and a brainstorm, and it was easy to decide.

"Yours."

-X-

It was only when Ochaco closed the door behind her that it crossed his mind.

"I don't…" Midoriya said and swallowed, feeling his cheeks burn. "C-cond-"

She tucked her hair behind her year, a smirk on her lips.

"There's no need, I'm taking shots."

"You are?" she nodded. "Since when?"

"Since after camp," she told him, and bit her lip, but not in a sexy way, more in a thoughtful way.

"Camp…" Deku said scratching his head. "You slept with him, didn't you?"

Ochaco looked at him wide-eyed, but nodded, her eyes wandering down his arms and back up again, and to his own surprise… Izuku didn't feel jealousy like he'd been feeling ever since he found out that there'd been another him walking around and being near Ocha all this time, he just realized that a lot of things made sense now regarding her behavior.

"Okay," he said. "It's just weird that you've been with me, but you haven't, really."

"Tell me about it," she said with a relieved sigh. "I had to handle with two yous and it was so confusing."

"But now it's just me and you."

She nodded, reaching out for his shirt as she stepped closer.

"Now is just me and you," she echoed in a whisper, and he leaned in for a kiss.

Differently from their previous kiss, this one was slow, taking its time in feeling the other. Ochaco pulled his shirt up and they broke the kiss just for Deku to take it off.

Izuku'd been eager to have this type of intimacy with Ochaco for a while now, but they spent most of their time in school, and there were rules to be followed. Sure he had lost his virginity in that same building, and he was well aware of the noise complaints they were getting from the neighbors (most of them because of Kacchan's "parties"), but he always thought he would avoid the school's area when he finally made love with her. His house was only a train ride away, maybe he could take her there, prepare something romantic, but now any plan he'd ever had was tossed in the trash.

Ocha's hands slid down his torso and stopped when they got to the waist of his shorts, making Izuku catch his breath. She started to place small kisses down his jaw and throat, along his collarbone and chest while she unbuttoned her shirt, tossing it aside without looking. She was wearing a nice pink bra that was quickly discarded too, and Midoriya took his time to caress her breasts, gently massaging them and pinching her nipples.

Her hands went back to the waistband of his shorts, and then she felt him over the soft fabric. The sight of her partially naked and her delicate, wet kisses added to the feeling of her breasts in his hands was quickly getting him hard, and after she started to stroke his penis, the friction with the fabric made it both painful and pleasurable.

She pressed them closer together, and Izuku's hands went to her hair, fingertips massaging her scalp. He wanted to kiss her again, but she took one of his nipples in her mouth and he forgot what he was thinking for a second or two, gasping with surprise. Ochaco sucked at his nipple until it was sensitive and hard, and unsure of what to do with his hands, he kept one tangled in her hair while the other rubbed down her shoulder and back; his breathing was growing erratic as she worked on his other nipple; it was a bit embarrassing how easily she was turning him on.

Honestly, it was simple math, really, if he'd think about it. He wanted her – as his friend, his girlfriend, his woman – and this was more than proof that he could have her, was dangerously close to having her in the three categories he had secretly set in his mind. There was no need to fight the feeling at this point when both of them had laid their hearts to each other and were half-naked in the same room, was there?

Done with teasing him, Ochaco pulled down his shorts and underwear, finally exposing his member, and started to stroke him with firm fingers.

Nope. No need to fight at all.

"Ocha," Izuku breathed out. She looked up at him and smirked before she started to make her way down. Was she-? He didn't even shower after exercising, she most certainly wouldn't…

She got to her knees and looked up at him, right hand steadily jerking him off.

"I know what you're going to say," she said softly, hand moving up and down his member gradually getting him as hard as he could get. "So I'll just gonna let you know right away that I don't care."

Izuku was going to say a lot of things, but all of them could work with her premature response, so he just opted to push them away. Ochaco's eyes went from his eyes to his penis and with her left hand, she spread the pre-cum that was starting to drip all over his head before she leaned closer, lips ready to cover him when he suddenly had to ask.

"Did you do this before?"

She glanced at him quickly and shrugged.

"Once."

"With… future me?"

Ochaco's smirk was back and she shook her head no, but before he could process her answer she kissed the tip of his dick, making the words stop short in his throat. She tentatively licked the tip, her tongue made small circles around his head as she ever so slowly started to take him in her mouth. Izuku gasped once the whole head was inside her warm mouth, her lips around his dick as she started to bob her head nice and wetly, gaining more centimeters with determination and making him get fully hard with impressive efficiency.

One of her hands went to his balls while the other still stroked his member, going all the way to its base. Izuku never expected Ochaco to be so good at this, and her combined movements were nearly driving him crazy with random thoughts, like how he hadn't shaved in a while now, too focused on other things to care about that, and how he hoped that she didn't mind. By the way, she popped his dick out of her mouth and started to lick it from base to tip, he supposed she didn't.

Ochaco knew how to give a nice, sloppy head, and whoever taught her that had Deku's eternal gratitude because it was awesome. She smeared his dick with saliva, and even though she couldn't fit all of him in her mouth, she still worked nicely on the blowjob. His hand went back to her head, but Izuku still had some self-control not to choke her on his dick. That wouldn't be a good first-time story to tell, after all.

The moment he felt his balls tighten, Ochaco pulled back, letting go with a loud pop, making him gasp with how suddenly she was cutting him off, so close to the edge. She looked up at him, saliva dripping down her chin. She wasn't jerking him anymore, he realized, and she wiped her chin with the back of her hand looking up at him. Izuku pushed her hair out of her face and leaned over, kissed her forehead.

"You're amazing," he told her and she chuckled.

"I'm sorry I can't take you deeper," she said, her voice a bit hoarse, and he shook his head as if telling her not to worry about that. She started to get up and he helped her to her feet.

"It's okay…" he started and she kissed his neck, close to his ear. "I want to go balls deep somewhere else anyway."

Ochaco's head snapped back so fast she almost lost her balance, and Izuku felt his whole face burn.

"Oh, my God, did I say that out loud?"

She smirked.

"You did," she said cockily. "I like bold, sexual Izuku."

His heartbeat slowed down considerably after she said that, and his posture even relaxed a little.

"You do?" Ochaco nodded. "How much?"

"A whole fucking lot," she said getting closer again and nibbling at his earlobe. When she spoke, her voice was just a warm whisper. "I know you know you have a big dick. I want you so bad, Izuku, you're gonna slide right in."

Damn. Izuku knew that Ochaco was forward, that she could cuss like a sailor and fight like a boss, but he wasn't prepared to how dirty she could talk and how sexy she could sound. Her talking like that was almost too much for him to handle.

Despite his red face, Deku felt like it was his time to take over, and he pulled her to an open-mouthed kiss that she gladly reciprocated after a small, joyful yelp. Her arms went around his neck and he slid his hands down her back to her hips, pushing down her shorts, panties and all. They had to break the kiss quickly to awkwardly step out of their shoes and take off the rest of their clothes, but soon they were back at it again, stumbling to her bed.

He let her lay down first, and he watched her. Ochaco's bed wasn't very big, but they could make do, and she looked so pretty with her lightly tanned skin and the curve of her hips giving away to her soft thighs. Her clothes had marked her skin, but that only added a little charm to her. Ochaco enchanted Izuku in more ways than he could count, and mesmerized he reached for her knee as he kneeled by her side on the bed to join her.

Instinctively, she opened her legs and his hand slid down her thigh, making her shiver. One of her hands went to her breast, while the other reached out for him, touched his cheekbone with a small tremble, her eyes watching him as she bit her lip. His hand reached her middle and he had live proof that she was, indeed, ready for him, her sex burning hot and slippery. Tentatively, he slid one finger in; his thumb easily found her aroused clit, and she gasped with the combined sensation, giving him a prideful satisfaction.

"Ocha," he started, but he didn't know what to say next. Midoriya Izuku was out of words, which was a first, and they were only getting started. She moved her hips against his hand, ushering him to do more, and he gave in to her needs, moving his finger a bit deeper, delighted by the sounds that came from her sex.

She was just so beautiful. Probably the most beautiful girl he'd ever meet, and she was his.

Could a guy be any luckier?

"Izuku," Ochaco called him dropping her hand and he looked in her eyes. "Make love to me."

A guy couldn't.

He leaned down for a slow kiss, her hands on his cheeks, his fingers still playing with her sex, and she trembled when he stopped, a sigh coming out of her lips on his. He positioned himself between her legs and stroked his member a couple times to lube it with her juices before he lined his body with hers. She reached down, helping him aim, and he laid on top of her, pushing inside ever so gently.

There was almost no resistance for him to go in. Ochaco's lips parted and her cheeks got extra blushed as he pushed inside of her making space, and when Deku dropped to his elbows he was so close to her, as close as he could be.

She felt incredible. Izuku had to stop a couple of times to let her catch her breath, but in no time he was fully inside her, and it was the best thing ever. Kyoka was really tiny with small hips, and she couldn't take him whole when they had sex, but Ochaco was perfect for him, the right size to swallow him whole – and boy, didn't she take him balls deep!

After the moment of daze for being inside her for the first time, Izuku breathed out, not even aware he'd been holding his breath, and Ochaco smiled, nodding at him to tell him to keep going. Her leg tangled in his and he started to move – at first going nice and slow, enjoying every sensation of her sex. If she'd been burning before, together now they were certainly on fire, because the pleasure that started in their connected middle was spreading to their extremities, gradually coating them with a thin layer of sweat as he built up the pace.

With short, deep thrusts, Izuku buried inside of Ochaco, and through parted lips she couldn't help but moan and cuss. Their breathing was erratic and their kisses were shaky, seeing that he didn't stop moving to kiss her. Deku's right hand slid down her side all the way to her thigh, making Ocha raise her leg to his waist to change the angle a little, and the moment he pulled out and pushed in again, her moan got significantly louder.

"Fuck yes, right there," Ochaco said under her breath, nails digging on his shoulders, eyes fluttering shut. "Right there, fuck!"

The fact that she was cussing so much, Izuku concluded, meant that he was doing something right for her, because he already knew it was good for him. She felt so amazing that he feared he'd finish too soon, but the moment she started to meet his movements he realized that she was close to the edge too.

Ochaco's breathing grew erratic and under her incentive, he kept thrusting, his hand firm on her thigh, face hidden on the curve of her neck taking in the morning scent of her skin. His Ochaco, his best friend, his lover.

"I love you," he told her under his breath and her nails dug deeper on his shoulders as she gasped.

He raised his head just enough to look into her eyes and one of her hands went to his face, fingers trembling on his lips before she cupped his jaw, eyes glossy with pleasure. Izuku leaned down, meeting her lips in a frantic kiss that didn't help them catch their breaths at all, and all of a sudden Ochaco's whole body trembled. She let out a small cry, unable to control her gestures, and arched her back; her sex was clinching him whole, caught between the urge to push him out and suck him deeper, and she came all over, her juices deciding it was time for him to get out.

"Holy shit," Ochaco said with a trembling voice; her eyes locked on Midoriya's, who still was partially on top of her, and she smiled. "Gosh, I love you, Izuku. I love you."

She pulled him for another kiss, her lower lip quivering as another shiver went up her spine, and Izuku's heart felt like it was going explode, so happy to hear her say those words.

They continued kissing until she calmed down a little, and then Ochaco reached between them, used two fingers to hold the base of his penis and guide him to her entrance again. Their skin was sticky and hot, but they didn't care the last bit. Izuku pushed the head inside her and felt his balls tighten again making him catch his breath, and he rested his forehead on hers.

"Fuck, I'm gonna last two seconds," he confessed, and she chuckled before she pecked his lips; her leg went up to his waist again, urging him to go deeper, and he complied, this time meeting no resistance at all on the way inside, and in the second thrust he was coming so hard she even let out a small yelp.

That was less than two seconds. So embarrassing that he hid his face on the curve of her neck again as he shot load after load in her womb, and he more felt than heard her chuckle. She was so amused by him.

"You're too cute, Izuku," she said, hands on his cheeks to make him look at her. He was sure he was blushing, and that made her laugh more. "I'm gonna have to change the sheets. Forgot you come like a fountain."

"S-sorry!"

"It's okay," Ochaco said kissing his lips and chin and cheeks tenderly. "It's fine, I love you."

"I love you," Izuku echoed. Because he did love her in such a different way from everyone else he'd ever loved, so much deeper than he ever thought possible.

And to think that he was trying to fight this. He would never win. Reason would never win. He and Ochaco together was fate, in the most intricate form it could take.

He got out of her and laid on his side next to her, the two of them squished together in her tiny bed, and after a while of just staring at each other with rosy cheeks, Ochaco started to giggle.

"What?" Izuku asked, worried that he'd done something weird and she shook her head.

"I really need to clean up," she said half sitting up, upper body sustained by her hold on his chest. "I'm dripping Deku seed right now."

Her light joke only made him sport a darker shade of red and she couldn't help but laugh more, muffling his apology. He shouldn't have been so thirsty to get in her pants, should've gotten those condoms in his room first, but-

"Here," Ochaco said kneeling on the bed and pushing Izuku to lie on his back on the bed.

She straddled him, and the moment she did that, he saw some semen dropping out of her. It was hot and weird at the same time, and he couldn't choose which one was more – hotter? Weirder? Still up to debate. Ochaco's right hand went to her folds and tentatively flicked her clit; her breath caught and she smiled at him. She reached between them with the same hand and got a hold of his now flaccid penis, making it lay on his belly, tip in the direction of his navel, and then she started to rub her pussy along his member, making him stare at the movement wide-eyed. So fucking awesome.

Ochaco leaned in without breaking contact and put a hand on his cheek bringing his attention to her face, and he swallowed when he saw the determined expression she only had on when she had a goal in mind. That expression scared some people off, but him? It only turned him on.

"Get hard for me, Izuku," she commanded, hand now on his neck, pressing at his collarbone as she moved getting more aroused by the second. "Get hard so I can ride you and fuck your brains out."

Well, he would not deny her ever again, that he knew for sure.

-X-

"Oh, holy shit," Ochaco gasped dropping on Izuku's chest shaking all over; her orgasm made him pop out of her one more time. He embraced her, rubbing a hand on her back as she caught her breath. He could see that she was getting tired, but she was also determined to continue and she wasn't allowing him to come even though it already was her third orgasm.

"Jesus, Ocha," he mumbled and kissed her forehead. She let out a shaky laugh, kissed his neck. They were so sweaty by now, and he too felt drained. "Just let me come already."

"No!" she exclaimed, head snapping up so fast she wasn't prepared and ended up losing some of her balance. With her face close to his, her damp hair glued to her forehead, she started to place small kisses along his jaw and on the corner of his lips. "You told me we get a lot of practice, so we'll get a lot of practice."

"Did I?" he replied smirking and she nodded.

"You did. You will."

It still was a little confusing, but Deku figured he'd stop living in his own shadow soon. The past had changed, and in that way, the future was settled too, wasn't it? He had nothing to fear anymore.

Funny how all his certainties were clearer when he was with Ochaco.

His phone started to ring, distracting them again. They'd been hearing notification alerts for half an hour already, and that was the second call they weren't picking up.

"Maybe we should get that," he reasoned and Ochaco sighed.

"It's not important," she said, still busy with kissing his jaw and neck, her fingers tangled in his hair.

"You don't know that. Someone is trying to reach us. Insistently."

"For fuck's sake," she mumbled sitting up.

Awkwardly, Ochaco stretched all over to get Izuku's shorts from the floor and fish his phone from its pocket to hand it to him. He got it and unlocked the screen to find at least a dozen texts from Tenya and two missed calls.

"It's Tenya," he said opening the texts. "He wants to know if I know where you are because Mei's waiting for you to test the gadget she made?"

Ochaco made a face.

"Shit, I forgot," she said, hitting the palm of her hand on her forehead. "Tell him to ask her if we can leave it to another day."

"Another day?" Izuku exclaimed and she shrugged.

"You mean to tell me you want to leave this room?"

"I do not," he replied quickly and honestly, and she giggled. "Okay, leave it to another day."

He offered the phone back to Ochaco so she could type the response, but she shook her head no.

"I can't type, I'm too shaky."

"Woman," Izuku said and chuckled. Ochaco laid on top of him again, nibbling his earlobe and breathing in his ear, and he had to manage to type with her like that.

"You just make me feel so good," she told him, her hips moving against his crotch again. She was going to drive him mad, wasn't she?

He shakily hit send and dropped the phone on the bed to focus on Ochaco again, attacking her lips with his and holding her tight around her waist, the other hand groping her ass as they sat up. His fingers found her wet entrance, so he guided his member to it again, but she had barely slid the head in when she whimpered.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked worriedly and she nodded avidly, hands on his cheeks.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just hella sensitive."

"Wanna take a little more time?"

Ochaco rolled her eyes annoyed, a playful smirk on her lips and slid in a few more centimeters.

"I'm fine," she guaranteed and gasped arching her back. "Shit."

Honestly? Same. Whatever distraction they had, casual chat and jokes in the middle of their lovemaking didn't make them the last bit less horny, and they were in a bliss when their bodies connected.

Busy with sucking at Ochaco's nipple, Izuku only processed that he got a new notification because the phone had ended up partially under his ass and vibrated when he got a new message. Cussing, he got the phone to see what it was about this time.

"Why?" he read, and Ochaco, who was working on some odalisque shit on his dick, cocked her head confused.

"Why what?"

"Why not today, it's Iida's text," Deku said showing her the text and an idea crossed his mind. "You know, Tenya was upset we didn't tell him we were together the first time around, he had to find out with everyone else. Since he's not here today, he probably doesn't know yet, and maybe we should tell him."

Ochaco smirked devilish.

"Take a picture," she said and Izuku's eyes widened.

"What?"

She embraced him, arm around his neck, and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Take a pic, send it to him with only one word with it: busy. And he'll know."

"You are evil," Izuku said chuckling and kissed her mouth.

"I know, right?"

He got the camera ready and snapped a pic of them, their faces close together, cheeks blushed, hair messy. They were clearly naked in the pic, and Deku had to resize it to make it more modest, because he didn't want to give his best friend a heart attack, and then he sent it with Ochaco's description.

"There," he said throwing the phone over his back. "He got the news. Now, what was that thing you were doing with your hips again?"

Ochaco bit her lip, starting to move back and forth ever so slowly, the muscle of her sex doing some crazy squishing, or whatever. It felt so good, he could die.

"You liked it?"

"I fucking loved it."

"No one had to teach me that," she confided in him. She liked to kiss him all over while they made love, and it was the best thing ever. "It feels so good. You feel so good."

They got only one more text from Iida's number that day. It was a photo of Mei doing the peace sign and winking, while Tenya in the background had his head down. They were in her workspace, mechanic machinery on the worktable. The photo came with a short and funny text that got Midoriya and Uraraka laughing for minutes, prolonging even more the moment they were having.

 _He_ dead _, but fine. Glad U guys R back together! Double date soon!_

-X-

"Oh, would you look at that!" Midnight exclaimed stopping by Izuku and Ochaco's side, hands on her hips and a grin on her face. They were next to the door and class was about to start, but they weren't expecting the teacher's attention falling on them. "Young love."

Their kissing session interrupted, they looked at the teacher equally red-faced and her grin only got larger. Midnight reached out and pushed a strand of hair off of Ochaco's face tenderly and winked.

"Gotta love that," she said and the turned to the room abruptly. "But now off to class! Go, go, go!"

They were all taking their seats as the teacher went to her post in front of the class. She wrote a few names on the board with instructions to go meet Ectoplasm in their free period, and Izuku noticed that the top 10 students made the list, him and Ocha included. With Ectoplasm responsible for the 2nd years' internships, he wondered if it had anything to do with that. Considering that class A's free period was the second, they would find out soon, and they did.

Midoriya was called to the office and was surprised to meet Ectoplasm in civilian clothes, looking as ordinary as ever. The teacher greeted him warmly and indicated the chair in front of him, so Izuku sat down, eyes analyzing the whole room as if he hadn't been there before.

"I suppose you know why you're here," the teacher said and Deku nodded. Bakugo already had left that same office grinning from ear to ear because he got an internship in Russia, saying he was ready to "wrestle some fucking bears!"

"Overseas internship?" Izuku said anyway and Ectoplasm nodded.

"And I suppose you know how this works," he added. Midoriya nodded again. "Second-year students have a chance to intern outside the country for two to three weeks, but since the school can't pay for everyone to go abroad, only the top 10 of each class is chosen. As the student #4 of class A, Midoriya, you were contemplated with it."

Unable to contain himself, Izuku's eyes widened and he grinned excitedly. Who would've thought only a couple of years ago that he'd have such opportunity? To go to another country train to be an actual hero? Sure it already was crazy to do so in Japan, but another country? That was insane!

"Okay, let it sink in," Ectoplasm said humorously and Izuku tried to calm down. He looked around the room and saw the jar of water.

"Can I get some water?"

"Of course, here," the teacher reached for the jar and got a plastic cup for him too, and Izuku poured himself some before Ectoplasm started talking again. "Now, you were one of the many students who chose to intern with Flashlight, she really impressed the U.A. students, didn't she?"

Midoriya nodded but didn't want to interrupt the teacher, so he didn't say anything.

"There was a long line to get to intern with her, but you got extra lucky – besides having the higher grades of the students who listed her as priorities, she also remembered you and was very impressed by you."

"So I got Flashlight?" Izuku interrupted, unable to control his mouth, and then blushed ashamed. Ectoplasm didn't seem offended by the interruption, though.

"You got Flashlight," he confirmed and Deku couldn't help but do a small celebration. "If you agree with all the terms, you'll go to Hawaii in December for two weeks to learn from her. Your plane tickets, classes and stay will be paid by U.A. and the American school you'll attend there, but everything else is on you. You will have to go to class, and you will have to present a report of your internship when you return. This is a major opportunity to learn as much as you can, and I'm sure you'll make the best of it."

"Yes, sir!" he agreed excitedly. Ectoplasm then fished a thick envelope that was on the table and handed it to Izuku, a page full of items glued to the front.

"Here is everything you have to know about the internship and the documents you have to prepare to go. It's imperative that you have everything – everything – ready by November 20th. I'm serious, Midoriya, every single item of this list must be checked by then, or else you won't be able to go. If you read the terms and don't agree with something, or if it happens that you can't go, let us know as soon as possible, so the opportunity can be passed to the next student in Flashlight's waiting list, got it?"

"Yes."

Except that there was no way Izuku would miss that opportunity, but he figured it'd be rude to say so at the moment. Holding the envelope with both hands, he couldn't wait to read all that information and get started on organizing things.

"Also, you know the drill, right? Third-year students don't get to go overseas-"

"Because of the social work, I know."

"Yes. So through U.A., this is the only time you'll get the chance to do that. So think of it wisely. Two more things," continued the teacher, making the student focus on him again. "While we can pay for your trip, if you need to take a companion with you, we won't be able to help with their ticket and stay, but every student, especially those in the hero program, have a list of sponsors who've been keeping track of your development in school, and we can reach out to them and see if they can pay for your companion's trip, if needed. Most students want to take one or both parents, and most times we get a sponsorship to at least one companion."

Now, that was interesting. Izuku's mind went to this mother and how she supported him all along, but he also remembered how she had used her vacation time to go with him to the harbor that summer, so they could spend some days with his father. She wouldn't be able to go with him in December, he was afraid, and that saddened him.

"Second thing," said Ectoplasm. "I got word that you and Uraraka are dating again."

Izuku's eyes widened and his cheeks blushed.

"News travels fast," he said shyly, and the teacher tapped his fingers on his phone absentmindedly.

"You have no idea," he replied. "Thing is, she got an internship in America too, and the hero who chose her will happen to be in Hawaii at the time because there will be some sort of convention."

"No shit," Izuku exclaimed under his breath, mind already going a thousand per mile. Hawaii. Everything Ochaco wanted!

"Of course you'll be with different heroes, in different schools and different points of the island, but there is free time, and you might even be able to enjoy some. You got so lucky, kid," the teacher said as Midoriya nodded avidly, not even trying to hide his excitement. "But don't think we won't expect you two to be on your best behavior. Also, remember she doesn't know about her internship yet, so!"

"Uh, don't worry, sir!" Izuku said, sealing his lips and then bowing. "She'll know soon anyway."

"Yeah, she will. Now piss off, kid, you have a lot of reading to do," Ectoplasm said and Deku got up. "And congratulations."

"Thank you, sir! I promise we'll behave!"

He almost skipped his way out of the office; more than half of his colleagues listed to the meeting were waiting for their turn to talk to the teacher, and the line was beginning to grow as the 2-D students arrived. Izuku sat next to Ochaco.

"So?" she asked and he smiled.

"You're gonna like it."

"What is it?"

He shook his head.

"I'm not telling you, but I know you'll like it. Don't worry. It's the best."

Ochaco grabbed his arm and groaned in a mix of annoyance and anxiety. He knew she didn't like to be kept in the dark, but it'd be so much better if the teacher told her about her going to Hawaii than him. Besides, he was cooking an idea that would only make sense after she got all of the official info.

Iida was called in to talk to the teacher, and when he came back, they started to talk about how he was going to Australia and how excited about it he was, even though Mei would be going to Germany and they'd stay so far from each other. Then Todoroki was up, and as soon as he was out of the room, Ectoplasm called for Ocha.

The three boys started to talk about their future internships; now that Ochaco wasn't with them, Izuku broke the news that he'd go to America, and Shoto told them that he'd be heading to Canada, and they excitedly chatted about all the things they could do in those countries.

"Kyoka and Tsuyu are going to Brazil, did you see?" Shoto commented. "I heard that the only place that has as much Asians as Asia is there."

"And they have rain forests, so Tsuyu will fit right in," Izuku added right when the door of the office opened and Ochaco danced out of there, her own thick envelope in hand as she got closer to him and jumped in his arms.

"Hawaii!" she exclaimed and kissed his cheeks, the corners of his mouth. "We're going to Hawaii!"

"Wait, you guys are going to the same place?" Ojiro asked. He hadn't been called in yet, so he didn't know where he'd be going, and neither did Shoji. Momo was in the office now. "Now, that's awfully lucky."

"That, Mashirao," Ochaco said still hanging on Izuku, her arms around his neck. "Is the sound of the universe working in our favor."

"And it's not that crazy," Deku rushed to add. "I mean, did you hear the part of Kyoka and Tsuyu going to the same place too?"

"They're going to the same country," Shoji argued. "Hawaii is an island, Brazil is fucking massive."

He had a point, and Ochaco hummed in agreement, but before they could tell him that, the door of the office opened and Momo walked do them ever so composed, tapped Shoji's shoulder.

"Mr. Ectoplasm asked you to go next," she said and he nodded.

"Okay, thanks, Yao-Momo."

"So?" Shoto asked and she squealed. Momo squealed. It made all of them stare at her wide-eyed, even though she didn't seem to notice their surprise.

"France!" she exclaimed and waved her envelope in front of them. "I'm going to France! I love it there! This is so cool! I need to practice my French! Got to find Yuga."

In no time, she turned around and headed back to their class, leaving her colleagues stunned, Shoto's mouth ajar as if he was going to say something.

"She's already fluent in the language, isn't she?" Ojiro asked evenly, and Shoto nodded.

"I was going to ask her to practice with me," he said numbly. "Canada, you know?"

"Well, go tell her, then," Ochaco said punching his arm playfully. "She'll say that you both can practice with Yuga, but who cares?"

Todoroki frowned at her but seemed to agree with her reasoning, so he just shrugged.

"I guess I could do that," he said but didn't move.

Izuku put an arm around Ochaco's waist, then, and tugged her to start walking. The free period was almost over and he had something to tell her, so they left their friends there and walked together down the hall.

"I can't believe we got so lucky!" Ocha said dreamily. "I mean, I knew we were going to go to Hawaii together, but I didn't think it would be like this! I thought we'd go for the summer or something. I didn't even put Hawaii in my options, I just said America."

"Ochaco," Izuku said and she looked at him. "I don't think my mom will be able to go."

"Why not?"

"Because we already traveled this year and she got her days off work, remember?" she muttered an oh, and then pouted.

"That's so sad…"

"It is. I wish she'd be there with me, traveling to another country and everything. But if she really can't, maybe it could be an opportunity."

"How so?" she asked frowning.

"Well, teacher said we have the right to take one companion, right?" she nodded. "And their trip would be paid by our sponsors. So maybe I could add your dad as my companion, and you add your mom, and because you're a hero, you get to take them to Hawaii, like you want to."

Ochaco stopped and stared at him, mouth hanging open in shock and Midoriya just raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Izuku…" she said under her breath, hands to her chest crushing the envelope. "You would do that?"

"Of course! If you want to."

"Yes! I want to! But only if your mom can't really go."

"That's the only condition."

"Oh, my God," Uraraka said and for a moment it looked like she needed to catch her breath, but she was soon looking at him radiantly, the most beautiful smile on her face, even though her eyes were glistering. "You're an angel."

"Nah," he dismissed. "But I like that you think that."

Izuku stepped closer and pecked her lips quickly before anyone could complain to him about PDA, and then Ochaco held his arm, got on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear.

"An angel, but a beast in bed, but it's okay, I love it."

When they finally got back to their class and found their seats, Izuku sat down very still, face as red as a tomato, while from across the room Ochaco just smiled dreamily, often looking his way. She knew exactly what buttons to press, and it was dangerous. Just deeply dangerous.

Ojiro and Shoji were just beginning to tell everyone about the plans they had for Bangladesh and Luanda respectively when Aizawa entered in the room ushering everyone to their seats, even though the chatter didn't quite die down.

"Oh, I see," Aizawa said with that death aura around him they all feared. "It's internship week and half the class is super boomed they won't go overseas. Am I wrong?"

No one answered, though the half that did get the internship was clearly uncomfortable now, while the other half looked deplorably sad. Aizawa, on the other hand, looked awfully pleased.

"Well, you knew what was waiting for you, didn't I tell you over and over last year?" he asked, both hands on his table.

"Yes, sir!" they all replied timidly.

"You are all well aware of how this works. Keep your grades up, get a spot among the top 10 students in your class, and you might be able to get an overseas internship in your second year. Who managed to sneak in the top 10?"

Nervously, Ochaco raised her hand.

"Uraraka, and only her," Aizawa continued. "Congratulations, kid. Where are you going to?"

"Hawaii."

That seemed to take him back for a moment because for once Aizawa looked surprised.

"Oh. It's a lovely place to go."

"You interned there, sir?" Ochaco asked and Aizawa shook his head no.

"Mic worked there for a summer and we tagged along back in college, it was a long time ago. Anyway, Mineta, I see your grades dropped. You used to be number nine, and now you're down to 15. What happened?"

All eyes went to the seat behind Izuku, and even he turned around to check on his colleague, who was sitting on his chair looking rather annoyed.

"I warned you about this before camp. Did you sit with the counselor to talk about your decline?"

"No, sir," Mineta mumbled, his face getting red out of anger.

"Well, then do it. I don't want to see any of you getting worse. Don't make me regret keeping your asses here when I could've kicked you out last year."

They all gulped nervously, Izuku included. He was perfectly secure in his number 4 spot in his class, but that didn't dissipate the cloud over his head. Sure he was nailing the Full Cowl by now, and he'd proven himself several times already, but that didn't mean he forgot how he was the last one of his class when they got started, and seeing Mineta drop from 9 to 15 was proof enough that no one was safe.

"Now, of course you all can find some internship elsewhere during spring and summer break," continued Aizawa. "But the difference is that the school won't help pay your trip and stay, it will be all on your own. Besides, you all know what the focus work for your 3rd year is, right?"

"Yes, sir!" they answered a little more excited this time. Iida raised his hand and the teacher signaled for him to talk.

"Every year has specific programs. First-year students do the local internship like we did last year; second-year students get to take on a bit more action and go to other countries to study and learn, and third-year students get to do social work in the country to complete their training."

"Overdetailed, but oddly summed, congratulations, Iida," Aizawa said with a nod.

"Thank you, sir," Tenya replied bowing a bit. The teacher's attention went back to the whole class.

"That means that after summer break next year, instead of interning, you'll all create a social program to be applied here, in this country. There won't be time to go overseas to intern with an international hero, so choose your options wisely. Now class."

Aizawa turned to the board and wrote his name, and then his subject – applied physics – on it, before suddenly turning to the class again.

"One more thing," he said and they all waited to see what it would be about. Seemed important. "You can participate in the pageant contest this year, registration opens later this week."

"Finally something I could win!" Mina celebrated.

"Shouldn't Midnight be the one to tell us that?" Sero mumbled to no one in particular, his voice almost muffled by the excited chatter of their classmates.

"Maybe he felt bad for not telling us last year, so he wanted to get ahead and do it," Todoroki mentioned and they all looked back at him.

"You know the only reason he didn't tell us last year is because Yao-Momo is clearly the hottest girl in school, right? She would win, and everyone would hate her more," Mineta said matter-of-factly, and Momo gasped.

"Hate me more?" she echoed. "You mean, people already hate me to a degree? Why?"

"No one hates you, Momo," Todoroki assured her, throwing daggers at Mineta, who just scoffed.

"You people are delusional."

"Dude, shut up," Dark Shadow warned him. He cast a quick glance at Tokoyami, who was determined to look at the board and copy what Aizawa was writing on it. "I'm warning you as a friend."

People from other classes sure could hate them, but everyone in class A knew better than to start hating on each other. Every time they were separated, shit went down. It was about time they worked together, even though half of them would be shipping out in a few months while the other half would stay put. The secret was to keep the unity and the sooner everyone learned that the sooner nothing would be able to harm them.

-X-

As expected, Momo won the pageant, Mina taking second place. Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Kyoka didn't want to participate, opting for other performances at the Cultural Festival; Izuku did a science project with Mei, Iida, and Tokoyami, but what they were all actually looking forward was the ball at the end of the festival, because it was when they had a fancy dinner and their families could join them.

For the ball, the U.A. gymnasium was all colorfully decorated, large tables were set all around to accommodate students and families, leaving the court open for dancing, and with the stage where they'd been performing all week at the very end of the room, now the DJ – Present Mic, obviously – commanded the party.

Ochaco's parents couldn't come for this year's ball because they were preparing everything for the two weeks they'd be away, but Inko made sure give her all the attention she could.

Izuku's mom absolutely adored Ochaco. Mrs. Mitsuki had joked that Inko would always talk about having a baby girl when they were teenagers, but when they both ended up having boys, she didn't even have a goddaughter to spoil. Now that Izuku was dating, her wish was granted.

"Aren't you the sweetest girl?" Inko would beam over Ochaco, and embarrass Izuku out of his mind talking about how lucky he was and how happy she was for he finally had a beautiful girlfriend.

The tables were huge, and because of that, they were sharing with plenty of friends. They had gotten there early enough to manage to sit all together, so in Izuku and Ochaco's table were also Tenya with his parents and brothers, Mei Hatsume with her dad, Tsuyu with her family and Shinso with his parents and little brother.

It was the first time they met the Shinsos, and Izuku had so many questions for them, like who had passed down Hitoshi's quirk, or was it a combination? Did the little brother already manifest any quirk? What did they work with in Saitama? And a lot more, but his mother grasp on his wrist, and Ochaco's on his knees after the first question (Hitoshi looks a lot like you, Mrs. Shinso, though his hair color is a bit darker, right? – with a quick glance at Mr. Shinso's blonde hair) made him stop. His attention went to Tenya instead.

"Where's your brother?" he asked, looking for Tensei. "I can't get tired of his field stories. And I'd like to know how things are going in his new work."

"Oh, his work is wonderful," Mrs. Iida answered over Tenya, who was looking around the room. "Tensei just loves to work with children. But I'm afraid you won't hear any story from him today, he said he saw one of his coworkers when we got here and we haven't seen him ever since!"

"There!" Hitoshi randomly exclaimed to himself and then got up. "I'll be right back!"

"I think it's so cool that Tensei decided to open a community center to help kids," Ochaco said to the Iidas. "If he can't be on the streets anymore, might as well find a new way to help, right? And teaching really is a good way to do that."

"I agree," Izuku nodded. "Most of the time, our teachers are responsible for finding something extra in us and help us push through it to become better people."

"Ms. Midnight, uh, I mean, Kayama, she really is special," continued Ochaco. On Izuku's right side, Inko talked to Mrs. Shinso about her young looks. "She's helped the girls from our class a lot, to build self-confidence and get the best in every aspect of our lives as heroines as possible. No wonder there was a female takeover this year in the Sports Festival."

She finished talking right when Mrs. Shinso let out some interesting piece of information.

"…actually, I'm 31."

"31?" Inko exclaimed surprised, a hand to her chest. "That does explain a lot! You just look so jovial."

"Mom, you're not that much older," Izuku said elbowing his mother playfully and she chuckled.

"Yeah, only a whole decade," Inko joked, and then something clicked. "Oh," she said pensively, and it made Izuku think too.

He looked at Ochaco, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and supposed she was thinking the same as he was. Izuku had been born seventeen years ago when his mom was 25. He and Hitoshi were the same age. And if Hitoshi's mom was ten years younger than his mom, she had been only… oh.

"Mrs. Shinso…" Inko started apologetically, worried she had been rude, but the other woman just shook her head.

"Call me A-"

"Arisa," a male voice said breathily, and they all looked up to see Hitoshi dragging Mr. Aizawa by his sleeve. The teacher… seemed to have seen a ghost.

Mrs. Shinso stood up, staring at the teacher wide-eyed, hands to her cheeks. She was a head shorter than Hitoshi, who was looking from one to the other confusedly.

"Shota," she said out of breath. At this point, everyone on the table was staring at the scene confusedly. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"You two know each other?" Hitoshi asked and they both nodded.

"Remember I told you I studied with one of your teachers, baby?" Mrs. Shinso said cupping Hitoshi's cheek tenderly.

"Yeah, but you didn't say which teacher. Mr. Aizawa has been training me for over a year."

"Gee, Arisa," Aizawa said, some of the color returning to his face. "You disappeared, left no contact at all. How long has it been? Eighteen years?"

Mrs. Shinso looked at her husband, whose expression was inscrutable, and then back at Aizawa.

"Something around that," she said quietly, her eyes subtly going to her older son.

"Well, anyway, this is Mr. Aizawa I wanted to introduce to you, he's been training me for over a year," Hitoshi said evenly, sitting down on his seat again. "Mr. Aizawa, these are my dad Makoto, and my little brother Kit."

"Nice to meet you," the teacher said evenly, though his eyes barely left Mrs. Shinso's. She was holding Hitoshi's hand tightly, and the boy was getting annoyed at it. "I tried to find you," continued the teacher and then shook his head. "Did you at least become an engineer?"

"Architect," she said smiling. "Didn't have enough time to be an engineer back then."

"Why did y-" he started, and then he looked at Hitoshi, who had gone very still.

"Mom?" he said uncertainly.

"We have a lot to talk," she said quickly. Hitoshi looked up at Aizawa but quickly averted his eyes again, his expression changing to something closer to anger. "What about lunch tomorrow? We're staying to send Hitoshi off to his internship."

"Yeah," Aizawa said, though he didn't sound very sure. "I suppose."

"Can I be excused?" Hitoshi said suddenly, and his mother let go of his hand. He didn't wait for permission and simply bolted out of there.

"I should… go too," Aizawa said already stepping back in the opposite direction. "Lunch tomorrow, then. Nice to meet you all."

"Nice to see you, Shota," Mrs. Shinso said with a wave, while her husband just nodded. Their younger son was too distracted by the food to notice anything weird going on.

"What the hell-" Ochaco said to herself, and then Mei leaned closer to them, over Tenya, eyes wide and amazed.

"Guys," she said as if she was about to talk about one of her babies. "I think Shinso is Aizawa's son!"

Tenya shushed her because the Shinsos still were right across from them, but God, if they all were stunned!

"So many things would make sense," Izuku mumbled and Ocha hummed in agreement.

"I'm back!" Tensei announced rolling to their table happily in his wheelchair, Todoroki Fuyumi by his side. "Did I miss anything?"

"A lot," Hatsume said emphatically. "Tensei, you missed a lot."

-X-

For the last day of internship, Izuku and Ochaco were back in Honolulu. They spent most of those two weeks separated, each doing work with their tutors in the paradisiacal island, but they got to see each other a couple of times during their stay not counting now.

Ochaco's parents insisted on taking a photo of them on top of that mountain with a great view of the beach and the scenery. Because it was winter, they didn't dare to go in the water, but the view still was amazing, and they were glad they'd been there.

"I've never eaten so much pineapple in my life?" Ochaco confessed when they were making their way back to the shore. Their flight wasn't up for several hours yet, so they still had time to enjoy, and it was a lovely sunny day. Izuku laughed.

"I have to admit, me neither!"

"It's on everything!"

"And so refreshing," he said and she nodded. Her pace slowed down significantly, almost to a stop, and they let her parents pass by them when they reached the sand. "What's in your mind?"

"I think…" Ochaco said slowly. "That I've never been happier. Look at them," she pointed at her parents, who were gleefully taking selfies, and then she looked back at him. "Izuku, I think these might be the best days of our lives."

She was… crying. It could've been the wind and the salty air, but there were tears in her eyes starting to stream down her cheeks, and the last think Izuku wanted was for Ochaco to feel sad, so he brushed her tears away carefully with his thumbs and kissed under her eyes, the tip of her nose, her lips.

"Don't be sad," he said looking into her eyes and she managed to smile, though her lower lip was trembling. "The best days of our lives are only beginning."

"I'm not sad," she replied unconvincingly and then shook her head with determination. "I'm not sad."

It sounded better the second time she said it, so he accepted it, but before they would start walking again Ochaco took Izuku's hand in hers and she reached out to cup his cheek with her other hand.

"Thank you."

-X-

The first thing back to school for their 3rd and final year of U.A. that made them anxious was to know who their homeroom teacher would be. Class A had had two completely different experiences with Eraser and Midnight, and they wondered who'd be put to the task of "taking care" of them this time.

They had placed bets and everything, most of the guesses on Present Mic, since that'd have them with the so-called U.A.'s trinity – as the students nicknamed them – one for each of their years.

Just a few months ago, when the class came back from their winter internship, they found out a bunch of archives in the school's library with every Sports Festival and Cultural Festival that'd ever been promoted, and in those they found out that All Might and Endeavour had studied together, as well as Midnight, Mic and Eraser. Their group chat was blasting with people wondering if someday they'd be the ones teaching classes in U.A. with students trying to know everything about their student years.

(it also set them on a crazy spiral of calling each other out for loud threesomes – Bakugo, Kirishima and Ashido's case –, temper tantrums – Kacchan, again – and low grades meaning low expectations, which made a bunch of people angry for being called out, but was something they mended later over chocolate cake and homemade ice cream)

"Hey, they're coming!" Kaminari announced from the door. Mina joined him, quickly followed by Mineta and Toru.

"Hi, Ms. Kayama!" Toru greeted as Midnight passed by them, and the teacher made a quick stop to greet them with kisses on the cheek, and wave at the students that remained inside. "Which class did you get?"

"Unfortunately, not you," Midnight said with a pout, cupping Mina's cheek tenderly. "I got class 3-E, but don't think you'll be rid of me so easily! I'm also teaching History of Art."

"History of Art?" asked Mineta. "That's new."

"It was my minor in college, and I used to love it. It's going to be fun to get back to that subject. Now, I should get going," she said waving again. "Bye, my beautiful 3-A!"

"Bye, Ms. Kayama!" they all said at the same time.

"Wait! Who got our class?" Kaminari asked.

"You'll see soon, and you'll like it!" Midnight replied as she walked away. "I know he's excited to have you."

"It's a he," Momo said holding the frame eraser. They hadn't elected their reps yet, but everyone was sure she and Iida would get the honor again.

"Damn, I wish it was Thirteen," Jiro mumbled.

"Do we even know what gender Thirteen is?" Sero asked and Koda nodded, signaling "none" at the same time.

"There comes Mic," Mineta said expectantly. "Wait, he's going to class B. Yep, he got 3-B."

"Oh, shit," Sato complained. "My bet was on him."

"Bet?" someone said from the back of the class, making everyone jump startled, and they all looked back to find Aizawa standing there, sleeping bag hanging on his left arm. He had used the other door. "It's not wise for heroes to gamble."

"Mr. Aizawa!" the class exclaimed.

"Sir, may I ask what you're doing here?" Iida asked politely pushing up his glasses.

"That's my class," the teacher said evenly and they all glared at him.

"You didn't get a first-year class?" Ojiro asked surprised and Aizawa shrugged.

"Too old for that shit," he replied as he walked to the front and some of the students chuckled. "Now, I reckon you all have assigned seats?"

"Yes, sir!" they said together and hurried to their seats.

Same as every year. Not a single change, not a single drop out. Class B had had 3 transfers, and 2 new students – one from support, the other from general studies – were moved to the hero program there the previous year, but for the first time in a decade class A remained the same twenty students from the beginning. That was what Midnight always marveled about. She herself had been class A, while Aizawa and Yamada had started as class B before being transferred to her class because of the dropouts.

"Whole trinity got 3rd years this time," Yuga commented to Ojiro, who nodded.

"Sir, if you don't mind me saying," Yao-Momo said raising her hand. "We honestly thought that if you ever considered taking a 3rd-year class you would get class B, because your s-, I mean, Mr. Shinso was transferred there."

"I'm already training Shinso outside of class, Yaoyorozu," Aizawa said as if it settled things. He dropped his sleeping bag on the floor and kicked it under the table, rested a hand on top of a pile of yellow envelopes and started talking again. "Now, 3rd year. Final year. Time to think back everything you've been learning, all the experience you gathered inside and outside of U.A. as trainees and figure out what kind of hero work you want to do when you graduate. Will you want to go to college specialize and get a minor degree? Will you start right away as someone's sidekick? Each person follows a different path."

He circled to the front of the desk, pushed the papers to the corner and sat on the table facing his students before he talked again. They were hanging on to his every word because they knew better than to ignore Mr. Aizawa's monotone speeches – he always had a card in his sleeve.

"I know there were some videos from my second year as a student circling in your group chats last spring, so I'm going to use it as an example," he said, getting high eyebrows from the students.

"I told them it was stupid to use the school's app's chat to talk about that," Bakugo mumbled, and Midoriya had to agree with him that time.

"Hizashi, Nemuri and I took completely different paths," Aizawa continued. "As you know, Nemuri went to college while working in a small hero agency, and minored in history and art. She managed to take most of her subjects in the first couple of years, almost went crazy because of it, but was good to start working as a sidekick by age 20. Hizashi went overseas – to Hawaii, if you remember me mentioning it before – worked with the rescue of some hippie shit, and while in the US, he also studied music, which has absolutely nothing to do with being a hero, but I admit is a nice hobby."

They all quickly glanced at Jiro, and Kaminari even poked her playfully as she blushed. Getting attention still felt awkward for her, even if she'd been the star of the past couple of cultural fest.

"Now, as for me," continued Mr. Aizawa, quieting the room. "I started sidekicking right away. I worked in small agencies, studying what kind of modus operandi I'd like to apply in my style of fighting and quirk use, ended up matching with a couple of colleagues with similar M.O.s and together we opened the underground heroes. I took night classes once a week but didn't have a formal degree. I don't patrol anymore, and I skipped town to work here, but the agency's still running, if any of you is interested."

"It's in Tokyo, isn't it, sir?" Shoji asked and Aizawa nodded.

"Yes, it is. And why do I mention that? Any idea?" he picked up the pile of envelopes and divided in two, handed one to Yuga and the other to Shoji. "Take the one with your name and pass the rest. Any idea, guys?"

Kirishima raised his hand.

"Are we getting our job applications out already?" he asked and to their horror, Mr. Aizawa smiled.

"I like students who pay attention," he said with that evil aura of his that kept them well behaved. "If you noticed, 3rd-year students rarely ever stay in school in the afternoon, everyone got your schedules?"

"Yes, sir!"

"In your 3rd year, you'll be encouraged to find a hero to work with in your first trimester until after the Sports Festival, always keeping in mind that however well you do at the festival will determine what kind of sidekick gig you'll get after school. And then, after summer camp, you'll start working on your community program. I recommend you start thinking of what kind of community work you'd like to do as a group because it's a pain in the ass to put something together. I also suggest you use the school's app to chat about school work instead of gossiping."

Some of them groaned, some sighed.

"Can we open the envelope, sir?" asked Mineta, and Aizawa nodded.

"Yes. Each one of you got your envelope, right? Inside, you have a couple of sheets to fill, and a list of the professional heroes that requested to work with you this spring, more or less like it happens after every sports festival. In case you weren't picked by anyone, you were assigned agencies, but I'll go ahead and say that neither class A nor class B suffered that kind of stress this time. Everybody was picked by someone."

Now, that was a relief! Feeling way lighter, Izuku opened his envelope and fished the papers, scanning them quickly while Aizawa talked about choosing a hero different from the ones they worked with previously, and about how they should ponder the things they still wanted to learn in an internship before they started to focus on other things.

In one of the sheets, they had to fill some sort of resumé with their work experiences as well as attaching their school record, while the other was to list their top #3 picks to work with, as well as elucidate the type of work they were aiming to and what they wanted to learn with their mentors.

Finally, while Mr. Aizawa explained how they could request their school records on the app, submitting it to the secretary and withdrawing it in 24h hours signed and everything, Izuku checked the list of heroes who wanted to work with him slowly, trying to pull their data in his head. His list was surprisingly long, the reward for getting that 6th place last year, he supposed. It was a diverse list, but there was one name that caught his attention right away, and Midoriya hoped and prayed he'd be lucky enough to land that final internship right away.

After marking some things in pencil, Izuku looked around the class and saw his colleagues doing the same, everyone excited and chatty. Mr. Aizawa was looking surprisingly relaxed and was taking that time to answer to any doubts they had, big or small, so Midoriya saw a chance to look over at Ochaco just in time to catch her smiling dreamily at her papers.

They were supposed to submit their entries by Thursday, and most of the students had their phones in hand to request the school record before anything else. Ocha did the same, bending to her left to get the phone in her bag, and when she straightened again, she looked over at Deku and smiled cheekily, warming his heart. Her phone was relatively new – Momo had given the silver smartphone as a birthday gift right before they took off to America – and Ochaco had been so happy and grateful about it, she took the best care of it.

Midoriya's own smartphone vibrated in his pocket and he fished it. His model was kind of new too. Dad had sent it for Christmas, making a show of only letting Izuku open the box when the two of them were Facecalling on Christmas morning. It was a black phone that already had a bunch of photos of All Might, his mom and, more importantly, Ochaco. He was sappy that way, he guessed.

The phone had vibrated with a notification of the school's app, and when Izuku opened the chat, it was a message from Ochaco, a photo of her list of option with a caps lock caption "LOOK. AT. THIS!". It was an impressive list, undeniably, and he snapped a pic of his list too to show to her.

 _Izu: I think I'm going with_ Edgeshot _. U?_

 _Ocha: Endeavour._

 _Izu: For real?_

 _Ocha: U betcha!_

 _Ocha:_ Edgeshot _is a good one if u want 2 kick Kacchan's ass in the 8s and get that #1_ u'r _bound to take this year ;)_

 _Izu: How do y-_

 _Izu: Oh yeah_ nvmd

 _Ocha: gonna change my name to know-it-all XD_

-X-

It was a good year, it felt. Last year of school, this close to becoming the professional heroes they aspired to be all along… After the second year they had, things were going on smoothly – no villain attacks, no kidnappings, a brand new set of first-year students that were fascinating (including Kaneda's little brother, the one that could bend time), and it had been the best internship Izuku had had in all his years of U.A..

Not to say that things were going completely smoothly, though; there was the fact that Toshinori's health had been extra fragile lately. He officially moved in with Gran Torino, so he'd been living further from Izuku than the boy would like to, but at least they still talked every day through the phone.

He still missed All Might's mentorship, though. It wasn't the same from afar, but it would have to make do – and it had been doing. It was a relief to consider that everyone would be coming to the sports festival, including Izuku's dad.

"I'm going to win this time, Dad," Izuku had said over the phone, and his heart warmed when he heard the man's laugh.

"I like to hear that confidence in your voice, son," he replied. "You bet I'll do everything in my power to go home to see that."

"You really think you'll be able to come over?"

"I sure hope so," his dad said, and Inko held Izuku's hand a bit tighter.

"Then I'll work extra hard to get that first place!" Izuku said with enthusiasm smiling at his mom, who smiled back even though he could see that she was nervous for him and his expectations.

Fact was that at this point, Izuku knew better than to count on his father's presence for anything. For as long as he could remember, his dad's work kept him far from the family, always moving around, and his mother had opted to stay in one prefecture. They only ever saw Hisashi once or twice a year; most of their contact was through the phone or email, and it was painful sometimes.

Growing up, Izuku would look at his friends' families, how they worked like a well-oiled machine, all the pieces in their places and he'd feel kind of sad, but then his mom would make him some katsudon, and he'd get a call later in the day from his dad telling him about his day, and everything would feel okay again. He still missed the physicality of having Hisashi around, but some things are just meant to be different, he supposed.

"How are you feeling?" Ochaco asked Izuku, leaning closer to whisper. They weren't touching, but still stood side by side, with Tenya and Mei standing behind them. "Did you see your dad?"

"I haven't seen anyone yet," he confessed and looked at her mildly distressed. "And I'm kind of nervous."

Ochaco smiled.

"Don't worry, you've got this," she assured, just a friendly reminder that she knew the future, even though all evidence of said future was no more. The photos Ochaco said had been glued to the wall of that abandoned apartment weren't there anymore, as well as the two smartphones where she said she saw the video of her third place. "We've been busting our asses to be on top, Izuku, and we deserve it."

She had that game face on again, something that always made a sweat drop on Izuku's neck, because she could look just so fierce it was scary, but then Tenya poked the two of them to make them focus on what Gunhead was saying on the stage and Hatsume chuckled.

"The representative of each class can come to give their statement, so we can get this party started," the new teacher said excitedly, making a bunch of girls giggle.

"Sometimes I can't handle how cute he is," Hagakure confessed to Tsuyu, who croaked in agreement.

"From class A, last year's champion, Yayourozu Momo! Class B, last year's best placed, Kendo Itsuka. Class C…"

"Yao-Momo has got to be the most improved player of our year," Oijiro commented as the stadium applauded the students going up the stage.

Their introduction was happening at the same time as the 2nd years' first test, and every year the games were different, though they always ended in hand to hand combat to determine the big winner. Izuku had the chance to watch the 1st years and the 42 students that made it through the next round had a clear headliner – Kaneda Gia, the kid that could turn back time.

Izuku knew he shouldn't be looking too much into it, but he couldn't help but feel curious. How was it that the kid could manipulate time? Was it some Nicholas Cage in Next kind of power? Or more of a Flash thing? But in Flash, the only reason he could go back in time is because he ran fast enough to bend reality, while Kaneda is more skilled in hand to hand combat, for what he'd seen in his file. Maybe it's more like Nathan in Misfits-

His line of thought was interrupted by a kiss on his cheek and he blinked at Ochaco, who was looking at him with a smile on her face.

"You're doing it again," she said sweetly and he frowned. "Mumbling about time travel."

"Oh," he said, his jaw dropping. "I'm sorry. It's just that is so fascinating! You saw what Kaneda did, right? It's like he knows exactly what's going to happen, but how-" Izuku stopped himself when he saw the look on Ochaco's face, the way she was poorly hiding a smirk on the corner of her mouth, how she couldn't help but look at him with that same expression other girls had when Gunhead did something cute. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said grabbing the front of his jacket and pulling him closer. "Can't seem to be able to stop falling in love with you."

"Ocha," Izuku mumbled feeling his cheeks burn and she laughed before she got on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips ever so tenderly. "Love you too."

They were waiting for the 2nd years' game to end, so the 3rd years could get started on the perimeter, so for a moment or two they could relax. It was of no use to be so tense right before the beginning of their trials, he had learned it the hard way the previous year.

As the perimeter was prepared for them, all the 3rd year students gathered near the entrance, following the instructions of forming ten lines at a random order. They couldn't see what was going on behind the wall, but they could hear the sound of something being built by Cementoss. This time, Midnight wasn't in the field, but instead, she was commenting the festival with Mic, just like Ochaco said she would.

"Oh, my God," Ochaco gasped. She was on the line next to Izuku, and she grasped his hand as if she just realized something. "Shinso is Mr. Aizawa's son."

"Yeah, we all know that," Izuku replied confused, but she shook her head.

"That's what's Mic was saying in the video!"

"What?"

But Ochaco quickly shook her head dismissing the subject; she pointed a finger at her own forehead, making a point of how late she connected the dots, and her sudden reaction almost made them miss the instructions to the game.

It was a maze with ten entries. Every 2 minutes, a group of students would enter through each entry; they had to gather three objects that would appear to them as soon as the door closed behind them – different objects found in the maze would not count, and if they weren't part of their list, they should leave them be – and after finding the objects, they had to find the heart of the maze, where they'd present the objects. After that, they would have one clue as to how to find the exit (there were three possible exits), and as soon as they were out, their time would be computed.

Extra rules: no wall breaking, no flying over the edge, no sabotage. This game was built on pure intellect, and as 3rd-year students, they were expected to handle the situation as professionals. The first 42 with the best times and execution (meaning, fewer fouls) would pass to the next round.

From his place on the line, Izuku saw Yao-Momo shake Kacchan, who was in front of her and turned around smirking at her. He knew for a fact that Kacchan, Kiri, and Todoroki had been helping Momo and Hagakure with combat since their first year, no wonder Yayourozu got that first place last year, but seeing Katsuki treating others like people was always kind of weird.

Izuku could also see the reaction of other students. He could pinpoint everyone whose mind worked on a strategic level over the physical – like Shinso and Hatsume – and felt like they legitimately had a chance to start on top, from those who were more physical players. Classes A and B had dominated the sports festival all those years, and a trial like the one the teachers suggested planed the field for all of the classes.

"First students from each line find your door," Gunhead instructed, and so the students followed. Everyone took one step forward and Ochaco held Izuku's hand.

"Hey," she said catching his attention. He looked at her. "Piece of cake, right?"

"Depends on who's projecting the maze," he pondered and then shrugged. "But yeah, we're going to nail it."

"You bet!" she said with a wide smile.

"Ocha," he said and she looked into his eyes waiting. "Good luck."

"You too," Ochaco said with a decided nod, and Izuku leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"You guys are adorable," snarked Monoma and Ocha glared at him like a savage Chihuahua.

"Mind your business!" she told him at the same time Gunhead called for the next group to get ready. Another step forward and it'd be their turn.

-X-

They agreed that whoever would be out of the maze first would wait for the other, so when Izuku found his way out good fifteen minutes after the door closed behind him and the screen in front of him showed a cornucopia, a Cementoss plushie, and a red cape, he found a place near the tunnel to wait for Ochaco while keeping an eye on the standings. Most of the students that were already out of the maze were waiting in there, and it was a tricky thing to do, considering that they were far from reaching the minimal number of people going to the next round, but everyone wanted to know if they could hope.

"It's taking a while for the system to compute our performance," Yao-Momo told Izuku standing by his side.

She was currently in second, the only one ahead of her was Kacchan – no surprises there. Tenya was still to start the trial, he was in the last group, just about to go in, and everyone knew that along with him and Kacchan, Momo formed the trio of masterminds. Izuku was wondering if there would ever come the day when he'd surpass his colleagues in intelligence when the standings were updated. He missed it because it was also the exact moment Ochaco got out of the maze and he was keeping an eye on her, but when the audience cheered, they all looked up.

"What the fuck!" Katsuki exclaimed and growled angrily. Above his name now there was another one – Izuku's.

"Midoriya, congrats!" Yaoyorozu said sincerely, shaking his hand. Ochaco rushed to his side and hugged him happily.

"I don't even know how-" he started, but stopped abruptly when Kacchan stood in front of him.

"Yeah, me neither, Deku," he said angrily. Izuku prepared for the worst. "But I guess you bested me this time. If anyone could, it'd probably be you. So hold on to that, it won't happen again."

"You said that last year, and the year before," Ochaco observed and Katsuki glared at her.

"Who the fuck called Round Face for the convo?" he asked, and she just smirked at him. Ochaco had no fear, and Izuku didn't need to have either, because the next thing that happened was… a peace offering. Bakugo offered his hand and Izuku stared at it wide-eyed for a moment before he shook it. The handshake lasted a second and then Kacchan already was passing by them, heading to the locker rooms. "You better watch your fucking back-Oh."

"Bakugo, my boy!" a familiar voice said, at the same time another said, "Oh, my, Katsuki, look at you!"

Izuku turned around so fast Ochaco didn't even process the movement at first; he eagerly looked for the source of the voices, heart racing on his chest as he saw them – All Might, his mom, and his…

"Dad!"

"…can't believe you're taller than me," Hisashi was telling Bakugo when Izuku spoke up and his father's attention went all to him.

"You came!" Izuku exclaimed hurrying to his father to give him a tight hug.

"Well, you told me you'd win this time, so I had to be here. I had to see you."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, are you going to cry?" Katsuki complained as soon as Izuku started to tear up. "Okay, I'm out of here."

"Your parents are here too, we're all in the same sector," Inko informed Kacchan before he left, giving him instructions as to where to find them.

"You met All Might?" Izuku asked Hisashi, tears streaming down his face. He turned to Toshinori and pointed at his father. "That's my dad."

"We've met, Midoriya," All Might said with a kind smile.

"I have so many things to tell you-" he started, turning to Hisashi again, and his father put both hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sure you do, but we'll have enough time, son," he said and then looked over Izuku's shoulder. "But you can start off by introducing me to that lovely young lady."

Izuku looked back blushing just to see that Ochaco was blushing too; she timidly waved at them. All of all the times Hisashi returned home, he and Ochaco never got the chance to meet.

"That's Uraraka Ochaco, she's my best friend and girlfriend."

"Hi, Mr. Midoriya," Ochaco greeted with a bow. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"I guess I can safely say you hit the Jackpot, son," Hisashi said with a chuckle and held Inko's hand. "Just like I did. Nice to meet you, Ms. Uraraka."

"Uraraka is one of U.A.'s best students," All Might said proudly. "And she improved greatly in the years she's been here. She's gonna be one hell of a hero. What- wait, don't cry, Uraraka, what did I do?"

"Thank you, sir!" Ochaco said between sobs. "You have no idea how much your words mean to me!"

"Gee, you two really are meant to each other," Mineta said passing by them and Izuku, who'd been watching Ochaco's reaction turned to look at him. Many of their colleagues were in the tunnel, going to the locker rooms. He quickly dried his face with the back of his hands.

"Uh, Mineta! How did you do?"

Not even bothering to turn around, Mineta dismissed him with a hand gesture.

"Leave me the fuck be, would you?"

"Damn," Ochaco mumbled at the same time All Might turned to the other boy. "What the actual hell."

"Mineta!" All Might called, going after the boy. Honestly, it'd only take him five steps to reach him.

"He didn't make the first cut," Shoji said as he passed by them. He was accompanied by Hagakure, Koda, and Sato.

"That sucks. What about you guys? And Iida?"

"I didn't," Sato said pouting. "That thing was hard! But they did well."

Koda nodded and Shoji shrugged.

"I don't know yet, there still are some students in the maze," Hagakure told them. "I still might get cut, I'm pretty down on the list."

"Think positive, Toru!" Ochaco said excitedly. "We're gonna go far!"

"Yes!" the other girl said mirroring Ocha's excitement, one fist in the air. "Oh, and Iida is already out, he must be coming over in a sec."

"Must be waiting for the results," Inko said pensively and they all nodded agreeing.

"You guys coming?" Shoji asked pointing in the direction of the locker rooms. All Might and Mineta were nowhere in sight. Ochaco shook her head.

"In a minute," she said. "Save us some seats in the cafeteria, okay?"

"There comes Mei!" Izuku exclaimed pointing at one of the shadows coming in their direction, and then he quickly turned to his father. "She's from the support course, and she's Iida's girlfriend now too. I don't know if you'll remember, but she was on my team in our first year's festival, and she helped a lot with my gear."

"The tech girl?" Hisashi asked.

"Did anyone say 'tech girl'?" Hatsume promptly said. Tenya was right behind her. "Because that's me."

"How did you guys do?" Ochaco asked curiously, and Mei smiled.

"We did really well!" she answered. "I'll end somewhere in the top half, and Tenya landed a 4th place. You did really well there, Ocha! And you, Izu, first place again!"

"It was just so cool!" Izuku said, beyond excited and they all nodded with the same enthusiasm.

"Wait, were you crying?" Tenya interrupted, and Izuku suddenly remembered why he wanted to wait for his friend to show up.

"Oh, yeah! Tenya, I'd like to introduce you to my father, Hisashi," he said stepping to the side to let the two men greet each other. "Dad, this is my other best friend, Iida Tenya."

"Mr. Midoriya, it's the utmost pleasure to meet you!" Iida exclaimed with three consecutive bows that made Mei laugh. She held his arm, prompting him to stop, and he did. "Izuku always tells us about you and your job."

"And he always tells me about you guys," Hisashi told them putting an arm around Inko's shoulders. "I'm so glad to finally meet you all in person."

"You said you'd have enough time to talk," Ochaco said, her hand in Izuku's. "How long are you staying?"

"A week," he said, and Izuku's eyes shone. They'd have plenty of time, indeed, and they would make the best of it.

"You kids need to prepare for the next round, right?" Inko asked and they nodded. "We'll leave you all to it, then, and we can chat when the festival is over. Do your best, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Hatsume, Iida, and Ochaco said at the same time Izuku said: "Yes, mom!"

"Oh, and tell All Might we went back to our seats," Hisashi said already walking away.

"This year already is the best of my life," Izuku said confidently, fist up against his chest. Ochaco elbowed him and he looked at her smiling. "Let's win this thing!"

-X-

The top five students in the first phase that year were, in that order, Midoriya, Bakugo, Yaoyorozy, Iida and Shinso, all students from the hero department, as expected, though the middle part of the list was way more diverse than the previous year. Because it relied more on skill than power, many students from other courses sported a place among the top 42, and many people were impressed to see some unexpected names there.

"Many people forget that U.A. is not just a school for those who want to be heroes," Midnight said upon commenting the list of students that made it to the second round. "We're also a prep school, and we're expected to have the brightest students of the country. With a trial like our maze, the world got a glimpse of how intelligent, smart our students are. We have some incredible people graduating this year, Mic, I'll tell you that."

"I agree, Midnight, one hundred percent," Mic replied. "The difference in final points – after calculating the time and efficiency of each student – between the first (Midoriya) and the forty-second place (Hagakure) is of thirty-one points. I mean, that's crazy!"

"And the last overall student is barely a hundred points behind the first place," Midnight added. "I don't know about you, Mic, but I'm so proud of our kiddos."

"She's a very good commentator," Tsuyu commented as they, yet again, waited for their arena to be ready after the second year students finished their game, that had been something similar to their first year horse ride.

"Ms. Midnight is the best," Momo said agreeing. "I can safely say she's my favorite."

Midoriya supposed she was, seeing that it had been under Midnight's guidance that Momo had gotten first place the previous year, but he didn't say anything in the matter.

"You don't happen to know what the next round will be about, do you?" he asked Ochaco, making sure to speak low enough she would be the only one listening. She shook her head no.

"I know I'll get third place, and I know you'll face Kacchan in the last round, but I didn't have the chance to gather a lot of information."

Also, Ochaco had told him that a lot of the evidence of what was to come in that apartment his future self would use was gone by the time they returned from the camp. Maybe, she supposed, he had taken it with him before he left, and he honestly thought so too. His future self knew that he'd be curious and would try to analyze everything he'd find.

"You know, it's always funny to see you call him 'Kacchan'," Midoriya said with a smirk and she elbowed him.

"I started saying it ironically, and now I can't stop."

He shook his head, thinking that it probably was how their other colleagues caught the nickname as well. Katsuki had yelled at almost all of them for using it, only a handful of people could call him that.

"It certainly will be something in groups," Izuku said bringing the subject back to their possible round two game. "It always is. And it has to be something that everyone can do at the same time, so it won't take the whole day."

"And we know that it happens almost in parallel with the first years' matchups," Ocha observed and Izuku nodded looking around.

Izuku looked around, trying to get any clues as to what was going to happen, but there was nothing extraordinary in the field – as a matter of fact, everything looked pretty normal, with the athletics circuit all laid down around them. The massive clock on the screen across from them counted down to five minutes until their second round would begin. All they had to do was wait to see.

-X-

Turned out that their second round trial was a simple athletic course, like a decathlon. The students were to divide in groups of three and do the 10 exercises – some of them individually, some as a group – and they would get individual points that would be summed up to get a final count. Use of quirk was allowed, but the catch was that everyone went zeroed to the second round. The points gathered in round one would be added to the ones made in round two to decide who'd pass to the final round, and depending on your group's position, you'd get extra points. The 20 students with more points would make it through.

"What do you say?" Izuku asked Ochaco after Gunhead finished with the instructions and told them to define the groups. "Wanna partner with me this time?"

Even though he and Ochaco had been on the same team in their first year, that hadn't been the case for their second year – Uraraka, much like Iida in their first year, decided that she didn't want to be in Izuku's shadow that time and formed a group with Momo and Tsuyu, and the three girls were the top ranking group of that round.

This time, however, Ochaco smiled at him and nodded excitedly. Midoriya wondered if that too was something she'd seen in the future, but didn't ask about it this time.

"Now, we just need a third party in our group," he said looking around, and Ochaco did the same. He spotted Shoto, Yao-Momo, and Hagakure a few feet from them, and Kendo, Shoji and Bakugo forming the most unexpected trio he could ever put together. "There are a lot of couples hard to break," Izuku commented, finding Tenya and Mei with Tsuyu; his friend gave him a thumb up, his other hand tangled in Hatsume's. Ochaco hummed agreeing.

"There's also a bunch of students from general and management that never make as far to this round, we have no idea what kind of results they could have," she said, finger tapping her chin as she thought about it.

That was true, the unusual maze trial they did previously allowed those with logical thinking to have advantage and was hard on students that relied more on their physicality, but no other class was as focused on training their bodies as the hero course, and now that they had to do a full PE kind of trial, it got tricky to choose partners.

"Hey," Izuku said out loud when he spotted a certain purple-headed guy. He took Ochaco's hand in his and headed in his colleague's direction. "Shinso! Do you have a group yet?"

Wide-eyed, Shinso looked at the couple seeming to struggle to understand Izuku at first, and then he shook his head no.

"No, I don't know who to choose," he confessed.

"We're down one," Ochaco said quickly. "Join us! You train with Mr. Aizawa, don't you? You must be really good, his training is hard."

Shinso shrugged.

"I guess," he said, though Izuku could tell he wasn't letting show half of how hard it was.

"What do you say?" Izuku asked smiling and Shinso looked from one to the other before his eyes went to something behind them. Looking back, Izuku saw two kids from the general department who were talking and glancing in their direction, and he understood immediately what it was about. "Look," he said turning his attention back to Shinso. "If you want to partner with your friends from general department, we'll understand, but don't think you owe them some sort of loyalty. I mean, you worked your ass to get transferred to class B, and your physical training is way more intense than theirs. It might make their numbers better, but it also might take yours down. If you're willing to try, I mean, it's your call. But if you want to see where your potential can take you, we're here."

"Just decide quickly because time is running out," Ochaco added with a nod to the clock. They had 4 minutes to form their groups.

Shinso thought it over for a moment, eyes down so he wouldn't be tempted by anyone, Izuku supposed, and when he looked up again, he smiled at them and offered his hand. Ochaco shook it vigorously.

"Let's win this bitch!" she said excitedly, making Shinso's eyes widen and Izuku laugh. Game Ocha was on.

-X-

For round three, Bakugo was seeded one more time, much like their first year, but the similarities ended there. He and Midoriya had a face off right in the second fight, and with his One For All Full Cowl 100% mastered it was hard to beat him.

Izuku made his way to the top fight by fight – first Tokoyami, then Bakugo, then Kendo, until he defeated Shinso in the semis and had a rematch with Todoroki at the grand finale. On the other side, Todoroki had just defeated Ochaco, and he had some tough fights against Tenya, Tsuyu, and a support student, but after three years studying each other, partnering and sparing the final match was a great one to watch.

In the end, it was Izuku at the top spot, Shoto with the second place and Ochaco sharing the third place with Shinso. Mr. Aizawa was the one handing the medals, and in the cabin, Mic and Midnight commented on their performance through the festival and the previous years at U.A.

"As per usual," Present Mic said. "Third place goes for two students, and this year it's my pleasure to announce Shinso Hitoshi and Uraraka Ochaco. You know I've been rooting for that Uravity girl since her first year, and Midnight, isn't it great to see her in the higher steps?"

"It sure is, Mic," Midnight replied. "After last year's women take over, I knew that the boys would come back strong, and it's nice to see one of those bad bitches take a bit of the glory."

Ochaco's smile widened at those words and she bowed before Eraser put the medal around her neck.

"Uraraka came a long way this time," Mic continued. "After last year's fifth place, she worked with none less than the number one hero Endeavour and did an internship in America last winter to better her numbers. And it paid off."

It sure did, everyone could tell. Ochaco was just radiant as she looked at her medal, holding the bronze with both hands. Izuku was so proud of her, he could feel his heart ready to explode. They did it – the two of them –, they finally got their big win.

"Now, mustn't be satisfying to see your kid win a medal like that, let alone be the one to give it to them?" Mic said as soon as Mr. Aizawa stepped in front of Shinso, and the other teacher glared at the cabin so fiercely scary that Midoriya's bones froze from where he was. Mic continued talking anyway, forcing the ceremony to continue. "I know it was a shock to everyone, including Eraser and Shinso, but honestly, how couldn't we see it before?"

On her end, Midnight couldn't help but laugh.

"That's U.A. for you, guys," she said excitedly. Shinso bowed in respect after receiving his medal, cheeks blushed, and Aizawa stepped back so he and Ochaco could get their flowers from Mt. Lady, who was the guest of honor. "Where you get to see the top heroes come to be, and in the meantime reunite with your Junior High long lost love."

"I'm going to fucking murder them," Mr. Aizawa said through his teeth, though Izuku was close enough to hear it.

"Second place!" Mic said changing the subject as if he sensed the threat from Eraser. "Todoroki Shoto. Now, he came to U.A. as Endeavour's son, legacy, but managed to make a name of his own, Midnight, and if you haven't been paying close attention, Todoroki was among the top 4 studentsevery year."

"I happen to be paying close attention, Mic, and I'll help refresh everyone's memory," Midnight added. "Three years ago, Mr. Todoroki fell short at second place, it was the year Mr. Bakugo blew our minds, could never forget that."

"You were the referee," said Mic.

"Yes, and I don't wish that for anyone!" she joked. "I feel you, Gunhead!"

From the field, Gunhead playfully pointed at the cabin where they were, getting a round of laughter from the public. Shoto had shaken Ocha's and Shinso's hands, stepped on his second place platform, and Mr. Aizawa approached him with the silver medal.

"Last year was a tough year for the guys, Mic, the girls dominated it from the start to finish," Midnight continued. "And the only boy to make through was Mr. Todoroki. We don't know how, because the girls were fierce! Maybe it was his talent, Mic, but maybe it was his looks."

"Very distracting," Mic agreed.

"Such a pretty face," she said. "I'm kidding, it was the talent, of course. He got a respectful third place, and this year, Mr. Todoroki, would you look at that silver medal again, you are one tough player!"

With rosy cheeks, Shoto smiled shyly and there was a choir of awn from the girls in the bleachers that only made him blush more. It was time for Izuku to take the top spot in the platform, so he got in position. He already had memorized where his parents and All Might were, so he wouldn't have to look for them when he stepped up.

And so he approached Shinso, shook his hand, and he took Ochaco's hand, but instead of shaking it, he placed a kiss on the back of her hand, getting a choir of awn himself. Normally, Midoriya wouldn't be that bold, but he was feeling so much confidence, such pride, and love within him, that he just couldn't help it.

"Here's for our first place, people," Mic said as Izuku went to shake Shoto's hand, and it was as if they could hear the smile in his voice. "Midoriya Izuku. That kid, Midnight, has a reputation."

"Has he, now?" she replied.

"Yep," Mic answered. "He's good at getting himself in trouble. Now, that wouldn't be so surprising after finding out that he was under the tutelage of All Might himself, the guy was known for pulling some mad tricks. But our boy Midoriya, he took his time to bloom. Of course, we knew he had the talent and the strength, but he always fell short to make a statement. Well, not today, Midnight, not today."

On the top of the platform, Midoriya bowed and let Mr. Aizawa put the medal around his neck. He was listening to the comments that were being made, but only partially, as if everything around him was a muffled sound and enhanced senses at the same time. He only half-heard Aizawa's congratulations, though he knew he replied a thank you, and he laughed at Mt. Lady's joke about him defeating her cousin, but didn't really process it until later.

He knew that Mic and Midnight were still talking about his progress, but all he could do was look at that medal, at the statement he finally managed to make. It took him three years, it did, but it was finally here. He was finally showing the world what he came for. Almost unconsciously, he looked up and easily found his parents and All Might, all of them cheering loudly and clapping, his mother crying and laughing at the same time, and he could cry too, right about now, but All Might had told him time and time again about being a crybaby and this time, for everyone's surprise, Izuku managed to keep his eyes dry.

He did it. He won just like his girlfriend told him he would, just like he told his father he would, and everyone he loved was there to see it.

Izuku waved at his parents with the flowers and the cheer got louder, and then he looked at Ochaco, who was by his side the way they were meant to be, and she was looking at him with the most beautiful smile she could offer him, pride all over her – for herself and for him altogether – as she took in their victory, one of her hands still holding her medal; when she blinked, two tears fell on her cheeks that she quickly wiped away with the heel of her hands, and then she laughed happily.

"And that's a wrap on this year's U.A. Sports Festival," Gunhead said excitedly. As he talked, Izuku invited the other medalists to join him in the top spot. "Congratulation to all of the students, you were amazing today! And congratulations to our four third-year winners, Uraraka, Shinso, Todoroki, and Midoriya, you really embody the motto of our school. One more time, everyone!"

"PLUS ULTRA!" the crowd cheered; the students cheered too, and the cheering went on for a long time, even as people started to leave, so excited they were with that year's festival.

-X-

"I'm so proud of my baby!" Inko exclaimed for the millionth time, showering Izuku with kisses and hugs as they sat down to eat that evening at the Midoriyas' house.

Everyone gathered there with them – All Might, Ochaco and her parents, as well as the Bakugos, including Eri and Yu. It was an unexpected bunch, but they were celebrating another successful year for the kids.

"Mom, come on…" Izuku said blushing, and his mother held his face with both hands, making him look at her.

"Izu, baby, I know I complained so many times of you staying in that school, but I'm really proud of you, I really am."

"You tried to get him to drop out?" Mitsuki asked shocked. "Inko, who'd save Katsuki's ass over and over if he did?"

"Fuck off, I can save my own ass!" Katsuki replied over everyone's laugh.

"Boy, be quiet, we all know you can't," his mother replied, making him growl in response.

"Maybe not totally at the beginning," Toshinori said calmly, eyes on Katsuki. "But he learned a lot, didn't you, Bakugo boy? And he'll be quite the hero once he graduates. A real contestant to that number one spot."

To everyone's surprise, Katsuki smiled at those words. Guess All Might's opinion mattered to everyone, even if he already was retired. Being out of the field didn't make him less of a legend, they supposed.

"Yeah, but the press has another say on who'll be number one," Eri said, eyes glued to a cell phone. She was on Masaru's lap, head against his chest, even though she was getting a tad too big for that. "They say that the only student with a solid performance through all years is Mr. Todoroki, and that he could easily be number one."

"What?" Katsuki exclaimed angrily. "Where did you read that?"

She showed him the phone's screen.

"The internet?"

"Who the f-," Katsuki said taking the phone from her and putting it in his pocket. "Fuck the internet, they don't know shit."

"They have a point," All Might said. "But that doesn't mean any of you couldn't get to the top. Everyone has room for improvement, and every single one of you is talented enough to get there. I really can't wait to see you all succeed."

Katsuki growled again, but in a controlled way. Ochaco, who'd gotten up to get more tea, sat on Izuku's lap and he put an arm around her waist casually. Inko found her seat next to her husband again.

"It's too bad we won't be able to work right away this time, though," she said nibbling a biscuit. "The school moved the social project up, right after we return from summer break."

"Why did they do that?" asked Ochaco's dad resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand. "Anyone know?"

"Mr. Aizawa said it's because they're studying a way of making the change from the school life to professional life smoother," Izuku explained. "Usually, the third year students would intern until winter, and then do the social project, but they thought it was breaking the rhythm or something, so we'll only restart with the internships at the end of the fall."

"Nothing outside the country this time, right?" asked Masaru, and they all shook their heads. "It was really something last year, wasn't it?"

"It was so cool!" Ochaco said with her hands on her cheeks. "I still can't believe we got to go to America. I can't believe my grades raised enough for me to get in the top 10 of our class."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bakugo said frowning. "I didn't give you free math tutoring for nothing! Or Ponytail with her whatever the fuck she was teaching."

"Chemistry," Izuku said. "Or all the extra time we spent studying English? We worked our butts off, Ocha, you should recognize that."

"I do! It's just…" she sighed. "Sometimes I look back and I'm just amazed, it's all."

"Be amazed, it's good," Hisashi said tipping his teacup at her as if to make a toast. "But also remember that you are worthy."

"Yeah…" she said looking down her chest, where her medal still was. Ochaco held it up to have another look at it, and then she took it off and handed it to her mother, who was by her side. "Here, you guys hold on to it for me, okay? Just a reminder that I'll be a great hero and help you out."

Mrs. Uraraka accepted the medal with teary eyes and kissed Ocha's cheek tenderly. Izuku's medal already was with his mother too, and she promised to hang it on their living room, where there was a wall dedicated to all the things he'd conquered throughout his school years, including a scrapbook with newspapers and magazines he was featured in.

"It's a shame Katsuki's boyfriend couldn't come," Hisashi commented. "He seemed like a fine young man."

"Kiri is so funny and nice," Eri said with her mouth full.

"Oi, eat your food, pipsqueak," Katsuki scolded before turning to Hisashi. "His siblings came over, so he wanted to spend some time with them."

"They're nice too, his siblings!" Eri said still with her mouth full, and it got a scowl from Mitsuki.

"But they'd crowd this place," Masaru said humorously. "How long are you staying, though, Hisashi? We could do something this weekend."

"I go back next week," he answered. "We sure can do something, right Inko? Izu?"

"Yeah, can't see why not!" for a week, they'd just be normal, and that was awesome.

-X-

That year, their summer camp was on a beautiful beach of Wakayama. Classes A and B had the first night free, as usual, and so they decided to build a bonfire to go with their evening snack – American style, like Tsunotori suggested. The group chatted and laughed around the fire as they ate and the sun set in orange and pink; with a semi-professional camera, Shinso went around taking pictures of everyone in their happiest moments, and he paused when he got to Izuku's group.

"You're taking pics of everyone?" Tenya asked and Shinso nodded.

"Oh, that's so cool!" Ochaco exclaimed grabbing Izuku's arm in excitement.

"It's a bit of a hobby I got from my dad," Shinso said and then shook his head. "My other f-"

"We got it," Shoto interrupted him and the two of them exchanged a look before they both smiled. "Come on, let's take a selfie."

"Uh, sure!" Shinso said. He put the camera down and fished his phone from his pocket to take the selfie, and they all crowded around him to be in the pic. "Lots of people, say cheese!"

"Cheese!" they all said, except-

"Fromage!" Yuga said instead, and they all burst out laughing. It was the best selfie ever.

"Make sure to share those photos with us later, huh?" Izuku said patting Shinso's shoulder, and the other boy nodded but before he could say anything, Momo got closer to the fire and clinked a stick to her can of soda.

"Guys," she said loudly, catching everyone's attention. "Guys, can I make a toast really quick?"

"When have you ever been quick, Yaoyorozu?" Bakugo replied.

"Total opposite from what I heard about you," Mineta said casually, and the only reason Bakugo didn't launch at him was because Izuku, halfway between the two of them, held him.

"Say it to my face you fucking midget!" Kacchan spat and Midoriya made a face.

"He kind of already did," he said as the other laughed, and he saw the flash of a picture being taken. "Kacchan, come on."

"Bakugo, it's my turn," Momo pleaded and groaning in disapproval, Katsuki went back to his seat next to Kirishima. "Thank you very much. As I was trying to say, I want to make a toast to… us."

She was a bit nervous, they could tell. Yao-Momo was great at speeches, but sometimes she'd get super flustered, it was so amusing to watch. This time, she recovered quickly enough.

"Most of you know that I've never had the chance to be part of a group like this, and these past three years have been… well, they've been awesome, really. I got to meet incredible people, learn a lot of things I didn't know," she turned to her right, to where Izuku and the others were and smiled. "Found me a… freaking boyfriend," Momo said pointing at Shoto and there were whistles and laughter. "Not that my father was very happy about it. Anyway."

Todoroki had blushed so much, Izuku elbowed him just to break him out of that trance. He knew the story of when Shoto met the Yaoyorozus, and it was hilarious. Momo kept talking.

"What I mean to say," she continued. "Is that this is our last year of school, and I know that our country is not that big, though it has a lot of people, and I know that we probably will have to work together quite often, but after we graduate, it won't ever be like this again – 40 people getting to grow and improve together, having a good time in the meantime. And I'm going to miss that. You guys are fucking awesome."

She got a reaction like it happened whenever Momo decided to cuss, and it was a cheerful one with everyone raising their cans to toast.

"Here," Ochaco said fishing out her own phone to take another selfie as Momo sat down by Shoto's side. Shinso was on the ground, his back against Izuku's legs. "My camera is not as good as yours, but…"

Momo leaned in to look at Ochaco, and the girl got flustered because the phone had been Momo's gift.

"I mean, it's not a bad camera, but have seen Shinso's? It's like, professional shit!" she quickly explained and the other girl chuckled, making Ocha sigh with relief.

"Come on, let's take as many pics as possible before we have to turn our phones on to the teachers tomorrow," Izuku said poking Ochaco and she nodded. The three of them smiled and she snapped the photo just as Kendo took Momo's previous spot.

"I would like to say a few words too," Kendo said gradually catching their attention. "On behalf of class B."

"You go, babe!" Tetsutetsu shouted and she pushed her hair behind her ear with a shy smile.

"It's just adding to Momo's words, really," she said looking around at all of them. "But… well, I guess we had a rocky start with the rivalry between classes A and B, but things changed after that first summer camp, I think, when we had the chance to work together. And the dorms, that was a huge step to bring us all closer. Some people came after," at this point, she glanced at Shinso and the other transfer student. "But nonetheless we all managed to be a hella cohesive bunch. I'm glad I got you meet you weirdos. It's going to be strange not to have you all around when we graduate."

"Damn, Kendo, you'll make me cry!" exclaimed Honenuki and they all laughed.

"I don't want to!" she replied, laughing as well. "And besides, we'll only graduate in eight months, so save your tears, we have a lot of time together yet!"

"You bet!" someone shouted and they raised their cans again, drinking to that. There were jokes about how Kendo and Yao-Momo were practicing their valedictorian speeches, and Shinso got up to talk to his class rep.

"Itsuka, that was a great speech," he told her and she smiled widely.

"Thanks, Hitoshi! I don't even know where that came from," she admitted blushing.

"More proof, I guess," he said with a shrug and Kendo frowned.

"Of what?"

"That you're brilliant."

"Oh," she said, jaw dropping a bit before she could stop it, and then Kendo shook her head and smiled at him. "Flatterer. You're taking photos?"

"While I still can, yes," Shinso said raising the camera. "Aizawa will have my ass handed to me again starting tomorrow."

"I'm not looking forward to that!" she said chuckling. "I admire you for training with him, Hito, the man is tough!"

Shinso could go on forever about how hard a teacher Aizawa was, everyone knew that but he never liked to touch the subject much, so instead he just shrugged again, his fingers tracing the buttons of the camera as some sort of calm beacon for him.

"You'll send those photos to us later, right?" Kendo asked touching his arm, and he nodded wide-eyed.

"Yeah, of c-" he started to answer, but was interrupted by Tetsutetsu, who swept Kendo off her feet and spun her around before setting her down again in catchy glee.

She giggled amused and put her arms around his neck, so Shinso stepped back and raised the camera to his face, snapping a couple of pictures of them. He hesitantly put the camera down and looked at the couple one more time before he turned away, just to face Ojiro's skeptical face.

"What?" Shinso asked annoyed and Ojiro just raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he said plainly, and only then Shinso realized that Hagakure was behind Ojiro piggybacking.

"Hey, let's go to the water," she suggested, one fist in the air. "Come too, Shinso!"

"I'll be there in a minute," he told her, though he wasn't planning on going to the water at all. Out of nowhere, Tsunotori offered him a corndog and he took it. "Thanks, Pony."

"Here," she said gently hitting her own corndog on his. "Cheers."

Most of their friends had gone to the water already, splashing and laughing, and while Shinso sat down to talk to Tsunotori, Sato, Mineta, and Kodai, Midoriya and Uraraka were swimming together to a spot far enough from the beach that their feet couldn't touch the ground.

"Can't believe the water is already so warm," Ochaco said swimming closer to Izuku. "Remember last year, everyone having to swim in freezing water?"

"Not even Tsu did well," he said nodding and they both chuckled. They were so close now that there was a current of warm breath between them. Izuku's hands found Ochaco's waist pulling her in and he kissed her – at first tenderly, and then gradually getting eager for more.

"Hm…" Ochaco mumbled, her fingers tangled in his hair. "This is good…"

"Yep," Izuku said against her lips, right hand going down her hip and grabbing her ass. "Cloud fucking nine."

She gasped playfully at his cussing and kissed him again, a million pecks on his lips and down his jawline before her tongue demanded passage again deepening their kisses. They would keep it up all night if they could, but there was an audience in that same sea not so far from them, and they all had a curfew, so the couple kept it decent.

"Izuku," Ochaco said in a calmer moment, and he hummed to indicate that he was listening, even though he was playing with the tips of her hair. "Don't do it. Don't go back in time."

In a first moment, under the moonlight, he seemed confused at her words because he actually was. History had a way of having to happen, and they both new that at some point he would have to do it – only that he would make sure to come back to her, of course, like he knew his future self already did. In the future, he would save his Ochaco, and that future was behind them in some crazy twisted fantasy.

Izuku had talked to the kid the other day, Kaneda Gia, he had gotten second place at the sports festival, lost on a tiny mistake, and Kaneda tried to explain to him how his quirk worked and everything. It was really complicated, though it used simple methods to get from point A to point minus A. Fascinating, but complicated anyway.

And then, he understood her. She didn't want to let go of this moment right here they were living, because it was wonderful and perfect in every single way. They were happy. Their friends were great. Even Mineta, who had been Ochaco's main concern at first, when she told him about the whole time travel thing, seemed to be doing well, even though he barely passed their midterms. He looked happy, the jokester they grew to enjoy.

Looking at things that way, she was right not to want Izuku to go come back to whenever it was he'd go back to, not yet, at least. She made a good point of wanting him to stay. And he had good reasons to stay as well.

"I don't see why I would have to go at all," he told her pressing a kiss to her lips and she offered him the shiest of the smiles. "I love you."

"I love you," Ochaco told him too and kissed him, and he kissed her, and they kissed each other until the teachers were calling from the beach for them to hit the showers and go to bed. They had a long couple of weeks ahead of them.

-X-

Ashido Mina came from a rough neighborhood. She had a fame of standing up against bullying from a young age and was called a hero by her colleagues for as long as she could remember, even though for most of the time what she wanted to do was dance.

It was only when she got to junior high that she actually started to take the hero talk seriously, and the reason she began to consider it possible to get into a school like U.A. was because she found out that a private school was offering scholarships to risky kids. She pocketed that 70% discount, studied her ass off and managed to make it to the best class in the hero department of the best school in the country.

Mina could be a bit of a knucklehead sometimes, and even though she worked hard, she couldn't help falling in the lower half of class A's grades, but her mind was in the right place and she had a big heart.

It came from her the idea for their social work that year, even though she let Momo organize the whole thing.

On their first week back to school, the once board of "how long they'd kept their gym supplies intact" was replaced by a whiteboard with their names written on it and several post-its glued under their names indicating what they were supposed to do for the next couple of weeks.

The idea was to have a recreational day in one of those risky neighborhoods Mina (and Izuku and Kacchan, and Kiri) came from, and make it available for those kids in junior high a contact with private and military schools, even public schools well ranked in the country. The idea was to smooth the path of a good education for as many kids as they could.

Class A loved that idea. They picked the date – late August – and the venue, organized the games, contacted schools, and went further, contacting medical doctors and social workers too to take a look at those kids, partnered with big companies for financial support; they made banners and released internet videos to call everyone to their event, and they had the school's full support, as well as a considerable budget.

It was a beautiful idea.

Tsuyu, responsible for, among other things, convincing her father to join and talk about his line of work, had managed to confirm just that, so she got up to the board to glue a green post-it and check that item done, and it was then that she noticed something weird about the name right under hers.

"Uh, guys?" she said, arm still raised as she pressed the marker to the board. They had all been scattered on the court in small groups of people-who-had-similar-demands-to-fill, and only some of them looked at her. "Any of you seen Mineta lately?"

"What?" Kaminari asked absentmindedly and then looked up at her. He was responsible for the technical part of the event along with Jiro, Katsuki, and Koda, and he'd been the only one of their group to pay half attention to what Tsuyu had just said.

"Mineta, kero," she replied stepping to the side and pointing at his name on the board. "He only checked one of the things he was supposed to check, and I don't think I've seen him today."

"It's Sunday," Ojiro said shrugging. He teamed up with Sato, Kiri, and Mina to organize the sports part of the event. "Maybe he went home."

"Yeah, but we agreed to stay in this weekend to finish this board," Asui insisted. Momo got up, a pencil and a notepad in hand and reading glasses on, and she stopped by the board to check on a few boxes. "You remember the last time you saw him?"

"No?" Shoji said. Along with Momo, Hagakure and Todoroki, he didn't stop making phone calls for the past three or four days, just to make sure that the schools would participate and offer good opportunities to the kids.

"I think I saw him a couple of nights ago?" Izuku said, struggling to remember if there had been any other occasion after. "He said he was grabbing a night snack, but was going back to bed already."

"What were you doing up and about at night, Deku?" Mina asked raising her eyebrows comically and then laughing when he got flustered. "I'm joking, nobody cares that you and Ocha fuck like rabbits."

"Mina!" Ochaco exclaimed, blushing furiously and making the other girl laugh even more. Some colleagues even joined her – Katsuki and Sero, for example.

"Mina, it's really uncomfortable to embarrass a friend like that!" Iida came to their defense, but just as Tokoyami was telling him off considering how Tenya had Hatsume over every other day, Momo talked over them.

"That's weird," she said confused. She had put the boxes down around her, all opened, and she was looking through one of them with a frown. "Mashirao, didn't I make the rope and hangers already for the adventure course?"

"I don't know?" he replied, getting up to join her. "I guess."

"It's checked in the box's list, but I can't find it. It's not misplaced either."

"Are you sure?" Ojiro said kneeling beside the box she was checking.

"Yes, look," Momo closed one lid of the box to show him the list of items. "Straps, screws, wood glue, silver tape, ropes, hangers… I have this vivid memory of making them."

"Didn't you just dream it?" Kaminari suggested. Ojiro was checking the other boxes one by one now. "Sometimes that happens. The other night, I dreamed I had studied for the math test and I was so sure it had actually happened, but boy, it didn't."

"I don't know…" Momo said tapping the pencil on her chin. "I even checked the list. But it does make sense, sort of."

"We have time, though," said Yuga. He was responsible for setting partnerships with companies along with Tokoyami and Iida. "Besides, we could always buy rope, we got a lot of sponsors. People love us."

"No, I want to make sure our rope is secure, and I have a special way of making them," she said. "Well, I guess I'll have to make another later."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Sero said with his signature smile. "We're ahead of schedule anyway."

"Just sort of," Tsuyu interrupted again. "Mineta was supposed to confirm most of the venue's stuff, and he only checked one box. We need to find him and know what's up."

"Fine," Jiro said dropping her pen. "Someone call him."

"I already did," Izuku said because when Tsu brought up the subject, Ochaco gave him this look, and when he realized he couldn't remember seeing the other boy for two days already, he got worried. "He's not picking up."

"Huh," Jiro mumbled. "Okay, everyone be quiet, and you call him again."

She plugged her earphone jack to the floor and listened as Izuku hit dial one more time, and they all waited. After a few seconds, she looked up.

"Looks like it's in his room," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, then we'll go check it out," Katsuki said already getting up and strutting upstairs.

"Bakugo, wait!" Tenya called going after him. "You're not the best fit to talk to… anyone."

"Oh, and you are?" he replied. They were so loud, the others still could hear them from downstairs, and the windows of the gap made the sounds echo eerily as the two knocked on the door. "OI, PIPSQUEAK! OPEN UP!"

"Bakugo! Step away!" Iida scolded, and then they heard a much more polite knock. "Mineta! Are you alright? We're worried you haven't come out in a while. Mineta? We know you're inside, open up, please."

"Just open the fucking d-" Bakugo said, and interrupted the thought halfway through. "It's locked?"

"This is not good," Ochaco said to Izuku, and he had to agree.

"Hold on," Tenya said, and soon enough they heard steps down the stairs.

At this point, everyone was on their feet, and some were going up too, like Yuga, Kirishima, Tokoyami, and Ojiro. Izuku himself was thinking about going there.

"Deku," Ochaco said, holding his arm and they exchanged a look. She nodded firmly and he headed to the stairs followed closely by Todoroki and Koda.

"Momo, where do you keep the spare keys?" Tenya asked, and she thought it over.

"In the first aid cabinet," she said pointing at the kitchen. "You'll open the door without his consent?"

"That's the plan," Iida said. "Something's… off."

"I agree," Ochaco and Tsuyu said at the same time, following the two reps to the kitchen.

Momo opened the cabinet and the keys to the girls' dorms were there hanging on the inside of the door, but those for the boys' weren't, so she checked inside the little boxes of the aid kit and came out empty.

"This is not good," Ocha said again, starting to get really nervous.

"Maybe I can make a universal key," Momo offered already heading to the stairs. She was followed by Iida, Ochaco, and Hagakure, and as she spoke, she held her palm up starting to create. "I just need to take a look at the lock, and I can make one out of iron… guys, give me some space."

"You got the keys?" Todoroki asked, and she shook her head no.

"I'll make one," she explained.

"Momo, why bother?" Kiri asked. "Look, we can kick it open and then fix the door, right, Mashirao?"

"Yeah, it'd take two seconds," Ojiro agreed.

"My creations are quick," she tried to argue, but Kirishima already was counting down to 1 and in a combined movement he and Ojiro managed to kick the door open, just like they said they could. "Guys! The privacy!"

"That's unacceptable!" Tenya began to chide but stopped right away when he glanced inside the room.

"Oh, shit…" Dark Shadow gasped.

"Mineta!" Tenya exclaimed the first to move, but as soon as he stepped inside the room he had to step back out, hand to his nose blocking the smell.

"What? What's up?" asked Yuga, and Izuku held his arm keeping him away. He wasn't sure his friend would like to see it.

Kirishima was frozen in place, eyes wide, Bakugo behind him covering his mouth. Momo had stepped in too, but she turned around and hid her face against Shoto's neck, letting out a strangled sob. On his other side, Ochaco held Izuku's hand, if only to stop shaking, and the one to finally talk was none other than Koda.

"I think we know where the rope and hangers went to, now."

-X-

Tenya was the one who went on max speed to call the teachers before anyone would call the police, and most of the people who'd been in that corridor when Mineta's dorm door was opened went back down with horror in their faces.

It so happened that All Might was there that day to pay them a visit, and he was the first to arrive. They wanted to help, but he made everyone step aside and wait for further instructions. With Shoto backing him up, he blocked the door and they all waited.

It didn't take long for principal Nezu and Mr. Aizawa to arrive, faces pale and scared eyes, and those who stayed got a chance to see how devastated the adults were to see one of their students like that. Only after that, All Might called his friend in the police asking for their support.

As the police did their job coming and going from 3-A's dorm and attracting the attention of other students that started to gather around their front door, Eraser gathered everyone from class A in the living room and explained to them that Mineta Minoru had been seeing the school counselor for the past months, starting off when his grades dropped enough for him to fall off the top 10 students who'd intern overseas.

They would know the following day through the counselor herself that Mineta had been diagnosed with clinical depression, but resisted to treatment and managed to steady his grades as of recently, even though he did have to have extra classes during summer along with students from other classes.

According to the police, Mineta had been dead for about 36 hours. He worked alone and silently on screwing the hanger on the roof of his room and tying Yao-Momo's super strong rope in a high enough height; he hung himself in the quiet of the night, probably shortly after coming across Midoriya in the corridor, and left no note.

No one knew why he did that. And they supposed no one would know now, ever.

That Sunday afternoon, after Mr. Aizawa instructed them to talk to the counselor the following day, and not talk to the press until the school's pronunciation – that would come only after Mineta's parents consented to it – the remaining 19 students of class A sat on the court kind of like they were seated before finding out that their colleague was dead, only in a much somber atmosphere. Two other teachers joined Mr. Aizawa – Gunhead and Midnight – to keep watch on them; Ms. Kayama took a long look at the board they had put together.

"You guys have a good system going here," she said looking back at them. Her smile was shyer than it normally would be, but she was trying to cheer them up a bit, and they were glad for that. "This is such a good idea."

"Thanks, Ms. Kayama," Kirishima said. "It was Mina's idea."

At that, Midnight's smile got a bit more convincible and she winked at Mina, who managed to smile too.

"You go, girl," she said and turned to Eraser cocking her head in a silent conversation with him.

Mineta's parents arrived shortly after and were taken to his room. From downstairs, they could hear the crying and the blaming, the how, oh howno one even noticed he was missing earlier and how their little boy was gone. Under their cries, Ochaco held tighter to Izuku's arm and pressed her face against his shoulder.

"It happened anyway," Izuku whispered to her and she nodded. "I don't know what we did wrong. What we could've, should've done differently. I didn't know it still would be so… lonely for him."

"Me neither," Ocha confessed looking up at him, eyes filled with tears. "Deku…"

He knew what she was going to say, and he didn't want to hear it. Hell, he didn't want to think about it, even though that line from the TV show he watched returned to his mind – sometimes, time wants to happen.

"I've got you, Ocha," he said putting a hand on her hair tenderly and the first tears fell down her cheeks. "It's okay," and he meant it in more than one way.

Ochaco sniffed sadly, hid her face again, and then he started to notice that all around he could hear sniffing and quiet cry as if the first person who let the tears drop opened up a well of grief in their group. Across from them, Yuga was consoling Koda as best as he could, the both of them being close friends with Mineta; and Denki, who probably was the closest of the friends, had been taken to the corner by Gunhead to talk in private.

-X-

The following day, after being informed that they wouldn't have to go to class for a couple of days and after trying to make sense of had happened in order to tell their friends from other classes, the remaining class A students gathered in their living room and watched the news, waiting for the school's pronunciation. A horde of journalists gathered at the conference room much like it happened when Katsuki had been kidnapped, and they listened and questioned principal Nezu, Ms. Kaito, who was the school counselor and Mr. Aizawa about the student taking his life under their noses.

It was painful to watch.

After a while, it was just too much, so Yuga muted the TV, though he was shaking so much it took him a few tries to get it done. Momo got up and headed towards the court, then, only pausing briefly to talk to them.

"Might as well use the extra time to get this event going, right?" she said, a tremble in her voice. "Don't worry, I can take care of Mineta's…" she swallowed, cleared her throat. "Part, his part."

"Yao-Momo," Koda called standing up too. "You already are doing so much. You need to get started on your new rope and everything. We can divide the tasks."

There were yeahs and nods all around and she sighed, smiled weakly at everyone.

"Yeah, don't worry, we've got this," said Hagakure, passing by her, their cue to follow her to the court too.

Toru picked one of the post-its that were under Mineta's name and read it to herself before she turned to the rest of her friends.

"Talk to the fire department and request an inspection of the venue," she said.

"I can do that," Sato offered. "It's good for us to know in details if everything is okay."

The other people from the sports group nodded and being so, Hagakure glued the post-it under Sato's name.

"Okay, next… Final check of supplies boxes before they're sealed."

Izuku raised his hand.

"I was going to double check anyway," he said with a sad shrug.

"It's good to have two different people checking, though," Sero observed.

"I'll do it," Tenya offered and Toru nodded, putting the post-it under his name then.

One by one the four tasks Mineta was yet to complete were distributed between them – Toru herself got one, and so did Tokoyami – and then, when things were settled and they decided to really get to work, Kaminari raised his hand to speak.

"Uh…" he said insecure and avoiding eye contact. "I know the Minetas were here yesterday, but Ms. Kaito said they won't return until the end of next week, so she asked me to take a look in his room and see if there's anything we think his parents wouldn't like to see… you know…"

"They want us to clean his room? Like in Looking for Alaska, kero?" Tsuyu commented quietly and Kaminari nodded.

"Just in case," he said. "If any of you would like to help me, I think I'll get it done now."

Izuku wasn't one of the people who volunteered to help, but his room was in the same story as Mineta's, so when he and Ochaco were passing by, Bakugo called him up.

"Hey, Deku!" Kacchan called rushing to the corridor holding something, and the couple stopped on their track. "Isn't it one of your shitty journals?"

"What?" Izuku asked and had to think fast to catch the notebook Kacchan had thrown at him. With a frown, he looked at the cover and saw that it was, indeed, one of his journals. He flipped the pages getting more and more confused and then handed it back to Katsuki. "Yeah, I gave it to him when I saw that his grades were dropping, thought he'd like an outsider's input on his quirk."

Katsuki scoffed, but got the journal back and shrug.

"You're such a soft fucking nerd," he said going back inside and making Ochaco chuckle.

Izuku already was rushing to his room, though, and Ochaco jogged to keep up with him. He went straight to his shelf and pulled out the notebooks he kept there, just to check something out.

"Deku?" Ochaco called confused. He put the notebooks on his desk and looked for one in particular.

"You know how many of those I have, Ocha?" he asked checking one by one, and Ochaco shook her head no as she closed the door behind her. "Nineteen. One for each of you. You know I keep them, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "But you have one journal to each one of us now?"

"I do," he said, finally finding what he was looking for. "Started them last year. I thought of giving them to you all as a graduation gift because I have… so many analyses on everyone's quirks and capacity, Ocha, you wouldn't believe."

"I kinda can believe, though," she joked, but Izuku meant serious business at that moment. He showed the cover of the journal he was holding. "Mineta?"

"Yep," he said. "It's still here. And I looked inside that other journal, Ocha, it had more things than this version has now. You know what it means, right?"

Ochaco nodded.

"Means you'll give it to him, alright," she said slowly, thinking things through as she spoke. "In the future."

"That is in the past. I must've thought that knowing more of what he could do, he'd get a boost of confidence back or something."

Izuku dropped the journal back with the others and shoved them in the shelf again with a tired sigh.

"It obviously didn't work the first time around," he said, and Ochaco got closer to him, put her arms around his waist and kissed his shoulder.

"But you'll get it right next time," she told him.

"I thought I shouldn't go back," Deku said awkwardly looking back at her and she didn't let go of him, so he more felt her shrug than saw it.

"This is bigger than you and me, I guess," Ochaco told him. "You saved me, but you didn't get to save him, and you didn't get to save yourself a couple of times too, remember? It'll have to happen."

"Time travel is so complicated," he sighed, placing his hands on top of hers and spinning around to face her. "But I know what you mean. I guess we're back to where it started, then."

"Yeah, I guess we are."

-X-

Mineta's parents allowed a memorial at the school, but very few students were invited to the actual funeral. Neither Ochaco nor Izuku went. The memorial would be held the week after class A's social work, and they were putting everything together to make sure all would be done perfectly. It was quite some work, what they decided to do, but they managed.

In the last weekend of August, the nineteen students of class 3-A took the next train to Osaka and headed the school gymnasium that would serve as the venue for the event. The gates were open at 8 in the morning to a waiting crowd that poured inside with joyful shouts that brightened their mood, and by noon, when the buffet was served, they were all in a good mood.

It was such a successful day. Kirishima headed the gymkhana that was every kid's favorite part of the day; Jiro played music every couple of ours, a set between speakers who talked about professions, health, security. There were some classrooms with hairstylists, or dentists, or lawyers, all working for the community. And it'd been Koda's idea to have three movie sessions at the auditorium, with free popcorn and everything.

It looked like the whole community showed up. From the littlest kids to elderly citizens, they all passed by, enjoyed the food, the music, the help. And the junior high students got to know about some neat opportunities they could have trying out for other schools where they could learn a skill or simply have a better education in order to achieve their goals. Mina talked about her experience and motivated other at-risk kids as she had been to follow their dreams.

At the end of the day, scholarships were offered, bellies were fed, support was given, and they were all happy. Success for a tense first month back to school, at last.

"This is the best day ever!" Mina sang after they said their goodbyes to the people who helped that event be all that it'd been. The students themselves were responsible for cleaning up and checking if everything was in its place like when they arrived, and they were working more than ever, now. "Guys, thank you so much for making this happen."

"No problem, Mina," Izuku said. "Your idea was very noble, it'd be a shame not to follow it."

"It's true!" Ochaco said to Mina's emotional reaction, and the two girls chuckled. "You nailed it."

"Thank you," the other girl said with a hand to her chest. "But nothing would be possible without Momo's leadership.

"That is true!" Ochaco replied, laughing again. Before they knew it, Mina already was skipping to the next person to thank them too. "She's so happy."

"That's everyday Mina, I guess," Izuku said taking Ocha's hand in his and she looked at him just so he could steal a kiss.

"Deku!" she exclaimed surprised.

"Look, I know for a fact that they already checked the locker rooms," he whispered in her ear and she raised an eyebrow.

"What are you suggesting?" she asked in the same tone.

"An escape," he said and winked. Ochaco's cheeks got a deeper red ting.

"Deku…" she said grasping the front of his shirt. He kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Real quick."

"You're such a tease," she said and then she nodded, holding his hand a little tighter.

Izuku laughed and let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist, guiding her to the locker room. As soon as they were inside, they started kissing as they stumbled to one of the stalls, hands all over and sloppy tongues. Ochaco's hand slid down the front of Izuku's shorts, feeling him out.

"Gee, Deku," she mumbled against his lips, and she more felt than saw his smile.

"I was watching you, you know?" he said pressing her against the wall of the stall, leaving small kisses on her jaw and down her neck. "Helping Mina and Toru guide the Zumba and all of that…"

Ochaco smiled, then, feeling his hands slip down her hips and thighs, going under her dress. She held on to his shoulders, gasped at his kisses showered her skin, felt aroused at the press of his hips against hers.

He stepped back just enough to push down her shorts and she reached for the zipper of his shorts too, opening it with surprisingly steady fingers. She got really good at stripping him down.

"Wait, hold on," Izuku said reaching for his back pocket and got a condom out. "Don't want to make a mess."

She smirked.

"Thoughtful," Ochaco said stepping out of her shorts while he put the condom on. "Okay?"

Izuku nodded and smiled before kissing her again.

"Okay," he replied.

He held her hips and she put her arms around his neck as support for her to put her legs around his waist, and they kissed ever so slowly as he pushed her panties to the side and aimed for her entrance. She had to help to reach down and guiding him, and in no time they were one.

With Ochaco's back against the wall, Izuku thrust in and out of her; they shared shaky kisses, mumbled each other's names, held on to one another; her legs trembled and his breathing was a mess. It lasted only a few minutes, but it was as amazing as anything they ever did together.

Resting his forehead against hers, Izuku looked into Ochaco's eyes mesmerized, impassioned, overjoyed.

"I love you," he said, right hand cupping her rosy cheek. She was just so beautiful. "Ochaco, I love you."

"I love you too," she replied with an ecstatic expression, pressing her lips against his.

"I want to be forever yours," Izuku said. "We'll graduate and be awesome heroes, and I'll marry you." As he talked, Ochaco's smile grew and she started to giggle. "And we'll have a bunch of babies."

"I like that plan," she said full on laughing now, and he laughed too. "But we can leave the babies for the next decade or so, right?"

"Yeah, of course! After we have established careers and everything." She nodded and they kissed again, and yet one more time.

"We should go back," she mumbled against his lips, leg dropping so she could stand on her own again. Izuku pouted. "Deku…"

"I know, I know…" he said, though he kept pouting.

"You're so silly."

They fixed their clothes, tried to fix their disheveled selves, and hand-in-hand they left the locker room, a legit walk of shame, and most of their friends already were at the gate ready to leave. It was quite something, seeing their class having a happy moment like that after what they'd been through the past weeks.

"Well, would you look at that!" Mina joked dramatically pointing at them, and Izuku felt his cheeks grow warm. "And people say romance is dead!"

"Do you get off on embarrassing other people?" Kyoka asked with a hand on her hip.

Mina hummed, tapping a finger on her chin as if really thinking about it, but Izuku didn't hear her answer because Ojiro and Sato were carrying some heavy boxes and he turned to ask if they needed any help.

"Nah, these are the last ones, don't worry!" Sato exclaimed waving him off and almost dropping the box in the process, so Izuku hurried to help him. "Thanks, bro."

After that, it all happened in just one second.

Izuku reached the guys just in time to keep the box from crashing down. Ojiro looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened, so Izuku turned around to see why. The girls shouted as a warp portal opened in front of them and out of it came Toga Himiko.

She barely looked like the girl she used to be, from the split second Midoriya got to look at her; part of her face was burned, as well as her right arm that they got a good look at as she did the movement to throw a knife, her eyes focused on him and her sick smile looking scarier on her scarred face.

Somewhere to their right, Yuga shouted a warning over the girls' scream, and a laser cut through them cutting off Toga's hand, but it was a second too late and she'd already thrown the knife. It was aimed at Izuku's back, but he had only made half a turn when someone got between him and the knife.

Ochaco.

Immediately letting go of the box, Izuku rushed to his girlfriend's aid, and he only partially noticed Sero trapping Toga in tape, only partially heard the villain's screams of pain, only partially realized that more people were coming to their aid.

The moment Ochaco fell against his chest was the moment time rolled again. The knife fell from her limp hand as blood gushed out of her neck. She coughed once, eyes glancing ahead, and Izuku's hand went to the deep cut of her neck, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. She trembled and tried to reach out for him, but she couldn't.

"Ocha," he called dropping to his knees and holding her tight against him, trying to keep her alive. "Babe, stay with me."

This wasn't supposed to happen. Toga was dead, his future self killed her, he knew he had!

(but did he, really? No one ever told them who the body found in that burned, broken house was.)

(did he die and it was all for nothing?)

"Ochaco," Izuku called again, already crying. She couldn't die. Just a minute ago they were joking about the future! No, this couldn't be. It just couldn't. "Ochaco? Talk to me, please!"

There was no response from her. Her eyes were open, but unseeing; the blood was leaking through his fingers and slowing down. He could turn her head to look at him, but it was of no use.

And he called her name… so many times, holding on to a dead girl.

-X-

It was mayhem around them. There were people crying and sirens, cops and paramedics asking if they were okay.

Izuku couldn't see their faces.

He knew things. Like how Iida was the first to come to them and had been the one to caress Ochaco's hair so gently, so heartbrokenly. Izuku could feel that, but couldn't see clearly. How Yuga and Shoto tried to make him let go of Ocha's body with no success, the same thing Mr. Aizawa tried to do a few minutes later after checking up if Toga was tied up and unconscious. He had no success either.

He knew that Yuga had thrown up, he being the one to cut Toga's hand off, and he knew that Mina couldn't stop crying. For a brief moment, when Kacchan kneeled in front of them and forced Izuku to look at him, he remembered that day about a year ago when he and Ocha came down for lunch and Kacchan corned him with this smirk on his face. I can see you fixed it, he had said. Izuku never knew how Katsuki learned to read him so well.

The moment was gone when he realized that he hadn't. Fixed it, he meant. For all it's worth, he only made things worse.

Ochaco was dead.

What the fuck was he supposed to do if she was dead?

There wasn't a version of the future he could envision where she wasn't there. He had to go back and make things right this time.

"Midoriya," someone called, probably had been calling for a while now, but only then he listened. "Midoriya."

It was Mr. Aizawa and Izuku blinked at him. He couldn't figure out what was behind the teacher's stern expression.

"Let go of her," he said and Izuku shook his head no. "Come on, you have to let go. Please, let go."

The teacher's hands were firm on his, and he managed to detach Izuku from Ochaco's body. As soon as that happened, the paramedics took hold of her and Izuku was carried in the opposite direction by Kirishima and Tenya.

"Ochaco," he said reaching out and he realized that his hand was covered in blood. He blinked again and stared at the palm of his hand, noticed that his forearm was bloodied too, as well as his shirt.

Something caught in his stomach and Izuku hiccupped, gasped for breath and managed to break free from his friends' hold, but he only made it for two steps before his knees buckled.

Again it was Tenya who caught him, getting in front of him and pressing him to his chest. The police were examining Ochaco's body and they were bringing the black bag.

"Don't look," Tenya told him, forcing him to look the other way, practically carrying Izuku somewhere else, and in the middle of it all Midoriya realized that Iida was crying too. "Don't look."

He didn't.

-X-

He didn't want to look because things wouldn't stay like that for too long. He didn't want to cry anymore because maybe his future self couldn't save Ochaco, but he could. What was it they said? The future is not set yet?

And if there was a future somewhere where he and Ocha could have their happily ever after, then he would chase it by any means necessary.

So it was a dry funeral for Midoriya Izuku, a quiet one too. The only thing he asked to keep from Ocha was her phone, and while everyone wept, he thought, and planned and wrote down every possibility – at first in anger, because it was all he had, and then with parsimony, thinking them through.

Izuku had a lot of time to think, as a matter of fact. The school decided that it would be good if he had some time off, and so he was sent home under the whispers of his school colleagues who couldn't help but compare his reaction to that he had when Kacchan was kidnapped right in front of him.

His girlfriend, they kept saying, died in his arms taking the knife that was meant for him.

Well, they just wait. Ochaco wouldn't be dead anymore.

"Izu, sweetie, did you hear what I said?" his mother asked shaking his shoulder when they were home. He looked at her blankly, fidgeting with the phone. "Your dad is trying to get a couple of days off to stay with you, isn't that good?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied evenly, looking at the TV again. It was a talk show and they were talking about U.A.'s security again. That discussion happened once a year for the past three years. Just last year, it'd been because of Monoma's kidnapping. "Mom?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you believe in parallel universes?"

Inko sat by his side and offered him an unconvinced smile.

"Like, somewhere out there your dad doesn't have a work that keeps him offshore for most of the year?" Izuku shrugged. "That'd be something."

"I think it would."

She reached out to pet his hair, and he even let her for a minute or so, but then he abruptly got up interrupting the moment.

"Where are you going?" Inko asked worriedly.

"To my room. I need… to write some stuff down."

And find Kaneda's number. And more than that, know directly from him how his quirk worked and how it could be used in another person. Izuku had to go back, that was all he could think about; he needed to find Ochaco and save her, and in the meantime save everyone else too, if he really was to become the Masked Blur.

More importantly, he had to go back soon. Time was fluid, but the past could set at any moment, and there was no way he would allow a world with no Ochaco around.

-X-

Still, he had to prepare a plan B. Just in case.

-X-

"I'll go back to school tomorrow," Izuku announced at dinner the night after the day his father got home, and his parents stared at him with jaws dropped.

"Already?" Hisashi exclaimed surprised. "I can stay for another day."

"I know," his son said evenly. "But I should go back to school. Don't want to miss out on my last year."

"Izu, baby," Inko said worriedly. "The school will understand if you don't go for a few days more."

"I'll go to school, it's decided," he said firmly. He was eighteen now anyway, didn't really need their permission.

Inko exchanged a look with her husband and then nodded. Funny how they never lost that synchronism, even with all the years they've been separated.

"Okay, son," his dad said. "I'll drive you."

And he did. It was a silent ride to Masutafu, and Izuku couldn't tell if it was because his father understood that he didn't want to talk, or if it was because Hisashi didn't know what to say to his son. Could be the later, seeing that they didn't have that much time together – or it could be that Izuku was too bitter to wonder about other people's behavior. Time would tell.

He got home early enough for second period when he'd find the dorm empty, and he'd be free of the homeroom chit-chat. He talked to principal Nezu, changed into his uniform and went to class.

All talk ceased when he opened the door, and his friends looked at him expectantly for a moment, though he did get a smile from some of them.

"Good morning," he greeted. Not the most exciting greet he'd ever given them, but just enough to lift that dense aura around them.

"Good morning, Izuku," Tsuyu greeted waving a hello, and then she croaked. "Glad to have you back."

"Yeah, man, it's good to see you!" Kaminari exclaimed smiling, and then they were all greeting him and shaking his hand as he made his way to his seat until the teacher entered in the room and they had to get to business.

Izuku didn't have a chance to talk to Tenya that morning, and he spent lunchtime on the phone talking to a print shop. The afternoon classes were really busy, and he paired with Koda and Shoji for drills and sparing. There was a lot of catching up he had to do, and also a lot of knots to tie in record time.

Every now and then, though, Izuku found himself looking for his friend, and his and Iida's eyes would cross.

It was a really strange feeling, to look at Tenya. He and Ochaco had been a trio with him from the get go, and they were the best of friends, Izuku knew that. But standing where he stood now, it was like he could see the pain in Tenya's eyes, but couldn't quite reach it. He couldn't be near him, and it wasn't because Iida's presence would always make him think of Ochaco, but because there probably was this understanding around that he could be feeling something similar to what Deku was feeling when he couldn't. He couldn't possibly. Izuku wasn't in the mood to have to explain that to anyone.

-X-

So Izuku kept doing his thing. It was very unusual of him, honestly, because no one ever minded other people's business as much as he did, and it was unsettling to see him so quiet, so in his zone. He knew he was scaring some people, and he didn't care. He was on a mission anyway.

On his second day back, he sat with 1-A student Kaneda Gia for lunch, and they talked in whispers about space-time theories. By the end of the day, there was no wristwatch on Izuku's wrist anymore. On his third day back, he went to the dorms before his field work and got out with two backpacks that looked extra heavy, didn't say a word to anyone the whole day.

On his fourth day back, Yuga asked if he wanted help cleaning his room, and Izuku declined politely, and then he returned an hour later with a cheese platter, smoothies and one whole season of Video Killed the Sidekick Star downloaded on a flash drive.

"You know these things have nothing to do with anything, right?" Izuku said, unable to contain his smile, and Aoyama sparkled at him.

"Chérie, they match with me," he said with a hand to his chest.

They watched five episodes without pause before they had to go to sleep, though Deku only stared at his ceiling until it was time for class again.

On the fifth day, Tenya got a hold on him before they got to gym class, and he talked so calmly, so centered, that it made Izuku frown. Iida was an extremely strict guy with no nuance. He never had a chill and the fact that he was so fussy right there and then told him that the guy wasn't fine.

"Look, we barely have time to hang out now," he started placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder, but quickly removing it again. "And I know it's complicated, but I want you to remember that I'm your friend and I won't, for the love of God, try to compete with your pain."

"You couldn't," Izuku replied and Tenya nodded, and then he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I know. I'm here for you, though."

Tiredly, Izuku shook his head.

"Can we talk about it when it's over?"

"Perdon?" Iida replied frowning, but Midoriya already was walking away. He didn't have time to explain.

-X-

He'd get a chance to talk to Tenya the following day too, but he was on his way to a date and he didn't have much time to spare. That was because he got two texts on that sixth day back to school. One was from Kacchan asking to meet him at the ice cream shop, so that's where he was headed first.

Katsuki already was there when Izuku arrived and waved at him to join him by one of the tables.

"I ordered milkshakes," he said as Izuku sat down in front of him. "Chocolate and cream, right?"

"Are you sick?" Izuku asked skeptically and Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"I can be nice."

"For your boyfriend, maybe."

"Your sorry ass want to go back to being frenemies?" he asked leaning on the table, an eyebrow raised, and Izuku sighed.

"What is this about, Kacchan?" he said instead. "I thought you said we'd never be friends like before, so what are you up to?"

"Did it ever occur to you that we never were friends in the first place?" he said crossing his arms. "I've never been nice to you ever."

"I recall that," Izuku said looking him in the eye. "Why start now?"

"Why not start now?"

Izuku scoffed.

"I don't need your pity."

"Pity?" Katsuki replied offended. "Deku, I don't do pity and you sure as fuck know that. I just want to talk."

"Talk to your boyfriend. Or your third wheel."

"Gee, I thought you were nice."

"Fuck that."

This time, it was Katsuki who scoffed, and the two boys found themselves on an impasse. The waitress brought their milkshakes and a slice of Black Forrest "on the house", two forks for them to share. She also gave Kacchan her number.

"I thought everyone knew you date Kiri," Izuku commented spooning his milkshake around as Kacchan folded the piece of paper and pocketed it.

"They do, they just don't give a shit."

"Do you?" he asked and Katsuki raised an eyebrow. "Give a shit?"

Bakugo smirked, hand going around his milkshake cup.

"You really do have a death wish, Deku."

Neither of them touched the cake, but Katsuki did drink his milkshake in small sips, keeping an eye on Deku. He took his time to speak again.

"Izuku?" he called, making him look at him again. "How a-"

"Don't," Izuku interrupted immediately. "Don't ask me how I'm feeling."

"You didn't go visit Eri once," he insisted. "She knew you were home, but you didn't go see her, she was worried. She wants to know."

"Bullshit."

"Bullshit?" Katsuki echoed angrily. "I'm the one to call bull on your bullshit! You get upset about something and you get destructive, we all know it! You're stupid that way. But now something really fucked up happened and you want to block everyone out? As if you have answers for everything?"

"I do!"

"The fuck you do."

"I do have answers, you asshole, I know what to do. Sulking won't solve my case."

"It's not sulking, it's grieving. You know? Like fucking normal people do."

"Oh, and you know what's normal like?"

"You're so full of shit."

"Eri doesn't want to know from me, does she?" Izuku said bitterly. "You're just looking for an excuse to try and get back at me."

"You really are full of shit."

"You don't know what I'm going through!"

"I do know, you fucking prick!" Katsuki growled through his teeth. "Shut up! You need to shut the fuck up! You think you're the only one suffering in this world? Boohoo, poor Deku, his girlfriend died? You think you're the only one who loved her?"

"Oh, so now you loved her?"

"I did," Bakugo admitted and Izuku leaned back on his chair, the most skeptical expression he'd ever wore on his face.

"What the fuck did you do to save her, then?"

It was an unfair question, Izuku knew because Katsuki had taken down Toga after Aoyama lasered her hand out, and shut her mouth so tightly with Sero's tape that by the time she got to the police station she was dead, suffocated. It was unfair because Kacchan had been such a great friend to Ocha, and she loved him, Izuku new it. She bridged the two of them so effortlessly, and without her now neither knew how to deal with the other. It was unfair, but Izuku had been beaten and bruised by Katsuki for so long that he, for once, couldn't find it in him to care about the other boy's feelings.

"Fuck you." Katsuki said evenly, looking at him dead in the eyes, and that was Izuku's cue to get up and leave.

He'd fix things when he finished his mission; right now, he had more things to do, like getting a blood sample, for example, and meeting with a certain first-year student that would help him save the love of his life.

* * *

" _No one wants to believe life ends this way… interrupted, unresolved, and unfinished._ "  
 _The Everafter_ — Amy Huntley

The night after the day Bakugo Katsuki tried and failed to have a frank conversation with Midoriya, he was laying in bed with his boyfriend. They should go to sleep, for the next day was a Monday and they had class, but while one checked agencies websites, the other scrolling through social media bored.

"There are just so many great agencies around, how am I going to come up with something interesting enough to start mine?" Eijiro wondered out loud and Katsuki tsk-ed.

"You won't," he said, eyes still glued to Instaphoto. "You'll just have a name big enough for people to want to work with you."

"Is that your plan?"

As a matter of fact, it was. Katsuki was going to say that, but his eyes were caught by a photo someone had just posted, and the caption under it made him check twice who it was. A chill went up his spine and he swallowed.

"What the fuck," he said under his breath, and Eijiro came closer to see what he was looking at.

It was a photo of Ochaco. Deku had posted it just a few minutes ago, and frowning Katsuki copied the link of the publication.

"It's a beautiful photo," Kiri said casually, even a bit sadly.

"Yeah, but did you read the caption?" he asked and turned the screen on his boyfriend's direction.

"I love you. I miss you. See you soon?" Eijiro read. "Huh?"

"Deku's up to something," Katsuki said with finality and opened the school's app, where he could message his colleagues.

"Aren't you getting a bit paranoid, babe?"

"Fuck no."

"And did you consider that Midoriya only needs a bit of space?" he suggested; Katsuki scoffed.

"Do me a favor, babe?" he said barely glancing on Kiri's direction. "Shut the fuck up."

He texted Iida with the link of the photo asking if the rep had seen it and got an immediate reply; Iida did see the publication, and as a matter of fact, he was in front of Deku's door, but Midoriya wasn't opening it. Sure it was really late, but it'd be nice to get a response. Oh, and Aoyama tried too but decided to give him space. They could talk to him in the morning, probably, right?

"Four Eyes can't seem to be able to talk to Deku either," Bakugo said.

"Now, that's weird. Though I didn't see them talk at all since Midoriya returned," Kiri said laying on his side. He took Katsuki's phone from his hand and put it down on the floor, then. "We can solve this tomorrow morning, now, can't we? Let's get some sleep."

He tried, but that didn't mean he did sleep well at all. As a matter of fact, Katsuki hadn't been sleeping well since Mineta, and it got worse after Ochaco; he'd often dream about taping Toga's mouth shut and choking her to death, her blood staining his jeans, her violent spasms shaking him awake. It was hard to sleep like that, and he'd get up extra grumpy the following morning.

That wasn't any news, and it hadn't been different that Monday morning. Katsuki got up before the alarm and went back to his room to get ready; he got his backpack, checked his face on the toilet mirror one more time, wondering if the bags under his eyes were noticeable already, and took the stairs to go down without waiting for Eijiro, because he wanted to get started on breakfast. When he reached the second floor, he saw Ayoama standing in front of Deku's door.

"Any luck?" Katsuki caught himself asking, and Aoyama startled, looked at him wide-eyed before he shook his head no.

"His door was unlocked," he said instead as Bakugo approached. The door was open. "I didn't try last night, neither did Iida, but I think it was always open."

"The fuck you standing there for, then?" Katsuki asked.

"It's empty," the other boy said. "He's not here. Shoto thinks he might have gone for a run, but he can't reach him through the phone."

Katsuki hummed and broke the invisible barrier that was keeping Aoyama from entering in Deku's room. Everything was in its place, every All Might poster on the walls. He flicked the light on to take a better look, and he could see the magazine on top of Deku's table, a magazine he himself had because it featured the top 10 hero students of the country about to graduate. Five of those students were from U.A., and out of those five, three were from class A – Deku, Bakugo, and Yao-Momo, coincidently all of the students who won the sports festival, one for each year.

It looked… normal, down to the computer on sleep with Deku and Ochaco as the wallpaper. The only weird thing weird was this gap on Deku's shelf, as if he'd taken out a bunch of books and didn't fill the space with something else, but that wasn't even a big deal. There was nothing to worry about.

"His phone is not here," Katsuki said getting out of the room. "He must've turned it off. Come on, I'm in the mood for some of your unbe-fucking-lievable French toasts, what about that?"

"Okay," Aoyama said evenly, eyes blankly staring at the room for a moment too long before he followed Bakugo downstairs. "Wait, did you just… appraise my cuisine?"

"Don't get used to it."

News spread around the building and Aoyama cooked for twenty people; he seemed confused for a second when he saw Sato remove two plates and put them back on the cabinet. Almost a month had passed, and they still weren't used to the facts. He separated a couple of toasts for each of them, Toru set the plates on their large table and Ojiro went around with an ice cream carton adding a scoop on each plate, Katsuki added the berries and Denki prepared the orange juice.

By the time Tsuyu finished making the coffee, everyone was ready to eat, and they sat around the table thanking for the food and trying to pretend they weren't constantly checking the empty chair by Iida's side where Deku's plate waited for him, or the front doors, where he could come through any moment. They had to save the plate for him on the fridge, but the ice cream already had fully melted when they left for class.

-X-

The 3-A students found their seats in relative silence that morning and started to get ready for the day. From across the room, Mina smiled at Bakugo and waved as if they didn't come all the way here together, and he awkwardly waved back.

Iida lifted the top of his desk to put some books there like he always did, and he found a green envelope there that he was pretty sure wasn't his. He flipped the envelope and on Izuku's handwriting there was his name; it made him frown, and he dropped the top of the desk without setting the books inside just to take a look on what was inside it.

"You got one too?" Koda asked, catching his attention, and they exchanged a confused look.

"Anyone else got a green envelope with their names on it?" Toru asked raising hers, and soon they were all looking under their desk to see if the envelope was there. And it was.

"What is it?" Tsuyu wondered. In all honesty, they were a little afraid of opening those envelopes. After All Might's retirement, villains had been getting more and more creative.

"It's Izuku's handwriting," Tenya told them, and then he opened his envelope to boost their courage. "It's… a photo."

Frowning, he removed the photo from the envelope and looked at it closely. It was him, Ochaco and Izuku at the ice cream shop right after they returned from their internship the previous year. It had been one hell of a cold day, but milkshakes after a busy day had become their thing since their first year, and they wouldn't let the tradition die.

That tradition died when Mineta did. It had nothing to do with anything, but suddenly they were not up for it anymore. They never talked about it, but they also never texted each other with plans either – not a single hey, how about a milkshake after class?.

The sound of his classmates fumbling with their envelopes muffled the thoughts going on in Tenya's mind, that he'd been meaning to call Izuku and Ochaco for some milkshake after their social event, and instead he had to wash his friend's blood from his hands.

"He wrote on the back," someone said. Iida couldn't tell who, but it made him check the back of his photo too. "Too bright. Keep doing you. Izuku…"

You were always the best of us.

Izuku, what do you mean? Sometimes he was so weird.

"What is this ruckus about?" Aizawa said entering in the class, and they quickly found their seats. "Where's Midoriya?"

"We haven't seen him, sir," Yaoyorozu said raising her hand. "Did you get a photo too?"

"Excuse me?" the teacher asked, and some of them showed him their photos and he scanned the room quickly. "Uh… yes, I did."

Aizawa set his folder on the table and showed them the similar green envelope. He was frowning and seemed worried as if he knew something they didn't, but none of them could figure out what or how.

"I want to know how he broke into the teachers' lockers," he said still frowning. "All of you got a picture too?"

They hummed in confirmation. Sato looked to his right, to the empty seat that once belonged to Uraraka, wondering…

"They have a nice message on the back," Jiro said, turning her photo around to read again what was written, a small smile on her face.

Hagakure asked what he had written for her, but Sato got up and interrupted that conversation. He reached for Uraraka's table and lifted the lid just out of curiosity, and his curiosity was confirmed, for there was an envelope there too. He exchanged a look with Koda, who was watching his every move, and then he offered the envelope to Iida out of respect.

"Where did you find that?" Aizawa asked because he hadn't been paying attention to the back of the class, too occupied with what was being said by the front students. Sato pointed at Uraraka's seat.

With an unusual tremble, Tenya opened the envelope and retrieved the photo – it was the same he had posted on social media the previous night, with the same caption written on the back.

"What does it say?" Aizawa demanded; Tenya realized he hadn't read it out loud.

"I love you, I miss you, see you soon," he said.

"That's it?" the teacher asked and Tenya nodded. "When was the last time you saw Midoriya?"

"Last Saturday," Iida told him. "He said he'd meet Bakugo and then would meet with this kid from 1-A, Kaneda, I think?"

They could pinpoint the exact moment something clicked inside Aizawa's head just by the way he looked at them. He definitely knew something, and now they wanted to know what it was, but instead of telling them, he simply caught his own envelope and photo and headed to the door.

"Wait here," he said before leaving them even more confused than before.

"I think he might have an idea as to where Midoriya is," Tokoyami wondered, and then he looked to his left. "If he left one for Uraraka…"

Reading his mind, Momo got up and checked Mineta's desk, finding another envelope. She held it up, showing it to everyone before she peeked inside. Momo looked around at her colleagues, who were watching her expectantly, so she swallowed whatever fear it was she was feeling down, and she got the photo out, checking its back first; and when she read what was written, she felt ice in her veins.

-X-

That morning, it so happened that 1-A's homeroom teacher was down with the flu and Nemuri was covering for her; that would make Aizawa's life a lot easier, because Shiretoko was a much more strict teacher and he wouldn't be able to interrupt her class like he could with Kayama. Aizawa rushed down the corridors like the students couldn't even think of doing, and he got to 1-A's classroom in record time, pushing the door open violently.

"Shota!" Midnight exclaimed startled, and then she frowned. "Is there an emergency?"

"Yes," he said and looked at the students, spotting the one kid he was looking for on the third line. "Kaneda, did you talk to Midoriya this weekend?"

Terrified, the boy only stared at him wide-eyed, and Kayama stepped closer to Aizawa.

"What's this about?" she asked, but he ignored her, focusing on the student only.

"Did you or did you not talk with Midoriya from 3-A this weekend?" he insisted and Kaneda nodded nervously. "Did you help him? With your quirk, did you help him?"

Nemuri gasped, a hand covering her mouth when she cussed. She looked at Eraser and then at Kaneda, ready to play good cop.

"Kaneda, this is important, did you help him with your quirk?"

Kaneda nodded nervously, and the teachers exchanged a terrified look.

"I need to call Tsukauchi," he said to Nemuri and she nodded. He needed to call the cop directly linked to the federal facility that had been conserving a body that had the same DNA as Midoriya, only it'd been there for over a year, found in the crumbles of a blown house near the site the now 3rd years camped at. "Take him to Nezu."

-X-

Yaoyorozu looked up at them. Katsuki had a feeling she was avoiding looking at him on purpose, and that made him extra nervous. The photo on his desk had the crypt caption on its back of 'I know you're nice, so be nice', and his hands were sweaty already, fingers trembling as his breathing caught on his throat.

"See you on the other side," Momo read and offered the photo to the next person to see for themselves.

Immediately, Katsuki got up, struggling to breathe.

Somehow, he knew exactly what had happened. He saw enough TV and read enough books to know how it is when a room was tidy like Izuku's had been that morning, to know how the affairs put in order weren't a sign of good things. He knew what it meant, and he…

He needed to go.

"Bakugo?" someone called watching him go.

"Katsuki, are you okay?" Eijiro. He could recognize Eijiro's voice.

"It's a panic attack," one of the girls said. He was all the way to the back of the class already, and Katsuki had to stop and drop his head. Someone touched his back.

"Stay back," he said gasping. Why was it so hard to breathe?

-X-

"Alright, 1-A," Nemuri said to the class. "I'll need you to behave for a few while Aizawa and I take Kaneda to the principal's office, okay? Mika, you're in charge. I'll be right back."

She gestured for Kaneda to come and Shota was going through his contacts when the whole building shook with an explosion.

"Bakugo," Aizawa said under his breath, looking up. That damn genius kid was too smart for his own good.

"Give it to me," Midnight said reaching out for the phone. "Go check on your class."

Just as fast as he had come down, Aizawa went back up, and he found the 3-A students on a state of shock, tables turned and teary eyes looking at him frightened. Bakugo was passed out on the floor, Yaoyorozu sat by his side producing something out of her thigh, Kirishima held his boyfriend's head.

"What the hell happened here?" Eraser asked alarmed, and only then he realized that Yaoyorozu was silently crying.

"He was having a panic attack," she said sniffling. The thing she was making was ready, a pair of gloves that she put on Bakugo's hands tying them together before she caressed his face. "I'm so sorry, Bakugo," she whispered.

Yaoyorozu put her thumb under his nose, informing them that she was making a chemical to wake him up, and only a few seconds later he gasped for breath, eyes snapping open under the girl's continuous apologies.

Bakugo looked around, finding Eijiro first, and then focusing on the teacher who carefully stepped inside. Their eyes met and Aizawa didn't say anything, but Katsuki's lip trembled anyway and his eyes filled with tears.

He really knew.

Katsuki's silent cry, so similar to Yaoyorozu's, was a sensible difference from the explosion he just caused, from his loudness. It was unsettling, but so had been the days they'd been living for the past weeks or so.

Midoriya was gone, the third student in their class in a month that they wouldn't ever see again, a bright generation gone too soon.

-X-

One other student found a green envelope under his desk in school. So far, he was unaware of everything that was going on in his neighbor classroom, and it was with a confused expression that Shinso found a printed version of the selfie he took with Midoriya and Uraraka back at the summer camp. On its back, an address followed by a simple sentence.

 _Gran Torino will explain you everything._

* * *

 **a/n** : Thanks for reading!

\- Mt. Lady and Bakugo being cousins was borrowed by blamedorange  
\- Monoma's kidnapping was adapted from dangerouslyzanyperson's headcanon


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